Obsidian Armour
The introduction of the Obsidian Legendary Armour in Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure marked a notable evolution in the game’s approach to prestigious rewards. Released on 22 August 2023 as part of the fourth major expansion, this armour set became the first legendary equipment obtainable entirely through open-world gameplay. Before this, legendary armour had been restricted to three modes with demanding requirements: raids, Player versus Player (PvP), and World versus World (WvW). The Obsidian Legendary Armour offered an alternative path, appealing to players favouring exploration and cooperative events over competitive or high-stakes instanced content. Its development and implementation reflected ArenaNet’s efforts to broaden accessibility while addressing longstanding aesthetic concerns, particularly for the Charr race.
Before the release of Secrets of the Obscure, legendary armour acquisition had been tied to specific game modes. The Perfected Envoy set required 150 Legendary Insights from raid bosses, while the Mistforged Glorious Hero’s set demanded 300 Ascension and 3,200 Ascended Shards of Glory from PvP. The WvW equivalent, Mistforged Triumphant Hero’s Armour, necessitated reaching rank 500 in the game’s large-scale conflict mode. The Obsidian armour diverged from these models, requiring no participation in raids or competitive modes. Instead, its components were sourced entirely from open-world activities within the expansion’s maps. This shift aligned with a broader design philosophy to accommodate diverse playstyles, allowing a wider player base to pursue prestigious rewards through preferred activities.
The Obsidian Legendary Armour was not immediately available upon the expansion’s launch. Following a quarterly release schedule, the armour was introduced in two stages. The base set, Tier 1, arrived on 27 February 2024 with the Realm of Dreams update. Its enhanced counterpart, the Suffused Obsidian Armour (Tier 2), followed on 21 May 2024 via the Midnight King update. This staggered approach allowed players to engage with the initial crafting process while anticipating the more visually striking Tier 2 version. The two-tier system also provided a structured progression path, encouraging sustained participation in the expansion’s content.
Historically, the name “Obsidian Armour” holds significance within the Guild Wars franchise. The original Guild Wars featured iconic Obsidian sets, renowned for their rarity and visual appeal. While the Guild Wars 2 iteration pays homage to this legacy, its design intentionally establishes a distinct identity. Lore connections tie the armour to the Astral Ward, a faction combating the Kryptis forces invading through dimensional rifts. The armour’s aesthetic incorporates mystical runes and sigils linked to the Heart of the Obscure, an artefact central to the expansion’s narrative. These elements blend nostalgic references with fresh creative direction, situating the armour within the game’s evolving storyline.
Acquiring the Obsidian Legendary Armour demands considerable dedication. Prerequisites include completing the expansion’s main story, unlocking three armour collections (Rift Hunter, Astral Ward, and Oneiros-Spun), and maximising the Astral Ward mastery line. Material requirements per set encompass 300 Provisioner Tokens, 66 Mystic Clovers, and substantial quantities of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 essences—approximately 18,000, 1,700, and 3,600, respectively. Additional components such as the Gifts of Mighty Prosperity, Expertise, and Stormy Skies further extend the crafting process. A character with level 500 in the relevant discipline (Armoursmith, Leatherworker, or Tailor) must complete the crafting, though the Legendary Forge near Lyhr at the Wizard’s Tower offers an alternative.
Upgrading to the Suffused Obsidian Armour involves completing the “Tier 2 Legendary Armour: Suffused Obsidian” achievement. This requires capturing 250 rift energy charges, defeating three legendary Convergence creatures, completing 15 events on each expansion map, empowering 75 starlight lanterns, vanquishing three Central Tyrian world bosses, and finishing three meta-events in Secrets of the Obscure zones—all while carrying a Runestone of Suffusion. Successful completion grants Imbued Runes of Suffusion, exchangeable for Suffused pieces via Junior Archivist’s Aide Conri. The achievement also unlocks a “Slumbering” variant without combat effects, offering aesthetic flexibility.
Visually, the armour varies by weight class. Heavy armour adopts a paladin-like design, medium armour features stealth-oriented elements, and light armour presents a form-fitting silhouette with spiked accents. The Suffused version amplifies these traits with luminous runes, embedded dyeable stones, and dynamic combat effects. During battles, a subtle glow envelops the wearer, accompanied by hovering runic symbols. These enhancements maintain thematic consistency with the expansion’s mystical tone while allowing for individual expression through dye channels.
A significant aspect of the Obsidian Armour’s development involved addressing historical challenges with Charr armour aesthetics. Since Guild Wars 2’s launch, Charr characters—distinguished by their hunched posture, digitigrade legs, tails, and horns—faced persistent design issues. Common problems included texture distortion from stretched human-centric designs, floating shoulder pauldrons, fabric ballooning around legs and tails, tail clipping through armour, vanishing horns with certain helmets, and elongated textures due to posture. Light armour wearers faced particular criticism, with some sets likened to unflattering “Lolita dresses” due to poor tailoring.
ArenaNet implemented several Charr-specific improvements for the Obsidian Armour. Helmets were redesigned with anatomical openings for horns and ears, eliminating clipping without removing features. Heavy armour received enhanced neck coverage, while claw aesthetics on boots were refined for natural integration. Pants were adjusted across weight classes to accommodate tails better, reducing fabric ballooning. Tail positioning was optimised to minimise clipping. Some adjustments, such as stealth fixes to claw and neck coverage, were initially unannounced but later acknowledged by developers. In February 2024, ArenaNet’s Rubi Bayer confirmed changes to heavy armour based on feedback, with further refinements discovered by players in May 2024.
Reception among players was mixed. While many Charr enthusiasts welcomed the improvements, particularly light armour users, others noted lingering issues, arguing that fundamental clipping and posture-related distortions remained unavoidable. Debate also surrounded the Tier 2 achievement’s gold-based bypass option. Despite these criticisms, the armour’s introduction was widely regarded as a positive step toward inclusive design.
The Obsidian Legendary Armour’s legacy lies in its dual role as an accessible legendary set and a case study in responsive design. It demonstrated that open-world content could support prestigious rewards while addressing race-specific aesthetic challenges. It offered long-awaited solutions to longstanding issues for Charr players, particularly in light armour. The two-tier system set a precedent for future legendary items, balancing initial accessibility with aspirational upgrades. As ArenaNet continues to refine armour aesthetics, the Obsidian set remains a reference point for reconciling anatomical diversity with visual coherence in a multiracial MMO environment.
