Orrax Manifested
Orrax Manifested is a legendary backpiece and linked glider skin added with the Janthir Wilds: Absolution update on 3 June 2025, extending Guild Wars 2’s run of legendaries that are tightly bound to specific storylines and regions. In this case the focus is the Janthir Wilds and their Mursaat ruins, and the item is framed as the partial manifestation of Orrax: an immortal, shadow‑like demonic entity from the Mists whose attention has been drawn to Tyria by experimental magic in and around Bava Nisos. Within that framing, the backpiece feels less like a neutral relic and more like a contained presence—something that has agreed, for now, to ride with you.
Orrax first enters the narrative through the “Unknown Nightmares” achievement chain, which follows asuran attempts to probe the Mists and document whatever looks back. The practical entry point is the story chapter “Salvation’s Cost”: finishing this unlocks the Orrax‑related achievements and lets you begin “Unknown Nightmares: Experiments in the Shadows”. Jorvik Jorundsson, an asura based in Bava Nisos, serves as guide and instigator, asking for help with his experiments as he reaches deeper into the Mists than is wise. Orrax is described in official and community guides as an immortal, shadowy demonic presence encountered and then cautiously bound using a crystal vessel and layered containment rituals; the backpiece ultimately symbolises a negotiated relationship between researcher, player and Mist‑born being rather than a simple conquest.
“Experiments in the Shadows” sets the tone for that relationship. Jorvik has you collect lightning and calibrate sensors, then sends you out to charge an experimental battery via specific events in Mistburned Barrens and Janthir Syntri. The chain continues with a detour into older content: you are directed to a suspicious portal in Godslost Swamp, and then to the Chaos Crystal Cavern jumping puzzle in Iron Marches to obtain an appropriate crystal. That crystal must be attuned using the Scrying Pool at the Eye of the North, tying the process into Icebrood Saga‑era infrastructure before you bring it back to Bava Nisos. Once returned and bound, it becomes the basis for cautious contact with Orrax, and completion of the achievement awards the Binding of the Dragon—a key precursor component—and the “Transcends Preconceptions” title.
The first concrete form of the item is Orrax Contained, the precursor backpiece crafted via the “Unknown Nightmares: Orrax Contained” collection. To create it you need four pieces: Binding of the Dragon from Experiments in the Shadows, a Draconic Tribute, and two Janthir backpieces—Salmon of Knowledge and Askur Camping Cookout. Draconic Tribute follows the familiar legendary pattern: 38 Mystic Clovers, a Gift of Condensed Magic, a Gift of Condensed Might and 5 Amalgamated Draconic Lodestones combined in the Mystic Forge. Salmon of Knowledge and Askur Camping Cookout come from the Mistburned Barrens Mastery and Bava Nisos Mastery achievements respectively, with remnants purchasable from the relevant heart vendors if you have already deleted or salvaged them. With all four parts gathered, you combine Binding of the Dragon, Draconic Tribute, Salmon of Knowledge and Askur Camping Cookout at the Mystic Forge to produce Orrax Contained.
Turning Orrax Contained into Orrax Manifested requires three further “gifts” that each capture a different slice of Janthir Wilds and the wider game economy: the Gift of the Mistburned Isles, the Gift of Shadows and the Gift of the Feast. The Gift of the Mistburned Isles is the geographic and exploration pillar: it combines the Gift of the Mursaat Ruins, the Gift of Janthir Wanderlust, 250 Mursaat Runestones and 250 Mystic Runestones. Gift of Janthir Wanderlust itself is a bundle of four map‑completion gifts—Lowland Shore, Janthir Syntri, Mistburned Barrens and Bava Nisos—each earned by completing all locations on those maps and then purchasable again from their renown heart vendors. Gift of the Mursaat Ruins is more resource‑heavy, requiring 100 Vials of Titan Melted Liquid Obsidian, 50 Mist Gate Residues, and 100 Shards each of Mistburned Barrens and Bava Nisos, all tied to events, chests and vendors in those two maps.
The Gift of Shadows is the more traditional legendary component, blending long‑standing ingredients with Janthir‑specific elements. It is forged from a Gift of Darkness, a Gift of Scales, a Gift of Titan Understanding and a Bloodstone Shard. Gift of Darkness follows the pattern set by Twilight: its recipe, bought from Miyani, requires Armorsmith 400 and combines a Gift of Ascalon (500 Tales of Dungeon Delving) with 250 Orichalcum Ingots, 250 Cured Hardened Leather Squares and 100 Onyx Lodestones. Gift of Scales, crafted by an Artificer, Huntsman or Weaponsmith at 400, uses 100 Armoured Scales, 250 Large Scales, 50 Smooth Scales and 50 base Scales. Gift of Titan Understanding comes from the Janthir renown ecosystem: it is purchased from heart vendors in Mistburned Barrens or from Ward Trader Sampaguita in Bava Nisos in exchange for Curious Mursaat Ruin Shards, Curious Mursaat Remnants, Amalgamated Rift Essences and large amounts of Ursus Oblige. The Bloodstone Shard, as usual, is bought from Miyani for 200 Spirit Shards.
The Gift of the Feast is the part of the recipe that has generated the most commentary. It is structured as four sub‑gifts: Gift of the Appetiser, Gift of the Entree, Gift of the Side Course and Gift of the Dessert; each built from large stacks of high‑tier foods and a handful of Fruits of the Shadow. Fruits of the Shadow come from the Homestead: after “Salvation’s Cost” you can buy seeds from Deft Lahar, plant them in your estate and harvest two to four fruits per node after a 24‑hour growth period. Gift of the Appetiser calls for 200 Bowls of Poultry Satay, 100 Red‑Lentil Saobosas, 50 Spicy Marinated Mushrooms and 5 Fruits of the Shadow. Gift of the Entree requires 200 Plates of Orrian Steak Frittes, 100 Plates of Truffle Steak, 50 Plates of Spicy Herbed Chicken and 5 Fruits of the Shadow. Gift of the Side Course combines 200 Meaty Asparagus Skewers, 100 Bowls of Black Pepper Cactus Salad, 30 Mystic Clovers and 5 Fruits of the Shadow. Gift of the Dessert uses 200 Bowls of Prickly Pear Sorbet, 50 Bowls of Passion Fruit Tapioca Pudding, 2 Amalgamated Rift Essences and 5 Fruits of the Shadow.
Those food recipes pull in an unexpectedly wide swathe of older content. Poultry Satay ties back to Malor in Sandswept Isles; Passion Fruit Tapioca Pudding and its components depend on Heart of Thorns Itzel and Exalted mastery vendors for Cassava Flour and Tapioca ingredients; Black Pepper Cactus Salad references Dry Top and Ascalonian Salad bases; and Amalgamated Rift Essence is crafted from Rift Essences and Ectoplasm earned in Janthir rift events. The net effect is that aspiring Orrax owners find themselves revisiting maps from multiple expansions, levelling Chef to 400 if they have not already, and pouring large quantities of raw materials and gold into food that is destined never to be eaten.
With the Gift of the Mistburned Isles, Gift of Shadows and Gift of the Feast completed, the final step is straightforward: combine them with Orrax Contained in the Mystic Forge to produce Orrax Manifested. The legendary is then unlocked account‑wide through the Legendary Armoury system, with full stat‑swapping and transmutation support available to all characters. Completing Orrax Contained also unlocks a Homestead decoration version of Orrax—a contained crystal or projection that echoes the experimental apparatus in Bava Nisos—allowing you to embed a small piece of the Unknown Nightmares chain into your personal estate.
Visually, Orrax Manifested is a large, horned, draconic or demon‑like silhouette made of smoke, shadow and coloured flame that rises over the character’s shoulders and coils behind them. The model is dyeable, with the primary dye channel affecting the hue of the spectral flames and subtle surface glows, which lets you push Orrax toward molten reds, void‑like purples or near‑black smoulder depending on your palette. Idle and movement animations reinforce the sense of Orrax as a separate entity: the head shifts and turns, particles trail more intensely when gliding, and the shape adjusts slightly in water so it does not conflict too much with swimming animations. Community showcase videos demonstrate the model on all races, highlighting how it scales with Asura, Humans, Norn, Charr and Sylvari and where it clips awkwardly or lines up particularly well.
Player reaction has been especially strong among Charr mains. Threads like “Orrax is really the fashion piece charr deserved for years” explicitly praise the way the backpiece’s horns and mass sit above Charr shoulders, echoing Flame Legion aesthetics and heavy armour silhouettes. Commenters talk about “throwing gold at Orrax” despite already owning Ad Infinitum or Warbringer, because the piece fills a perceived gap in Charr‑friendly legendary cosmetics. Some note that it looks disproportionately good on Charr compared to other races, sparking discussion about race‑biased designs and the difficulty of making a single legendary look equally at home on every body type. There is also a light undercurrent of social commentary: posts about Orrax on Charr quickly slide into joking stereotypes about Charr roleplayers, neon‑dye enthusiasts and “furry crowd” hubs in the Black Citadel, underlining how a single cosmetic can intersect with existing community narratives.
The acquisition path has invited comparison with earlier legendary backpieces. Because Orrax Manifested is obtained entirely through open‑world play—story, map achievements, crafting and Homestead gardening—without requiring raids, high‑tier fractals or World vs World tickets, guides often pitch it as a viable first legendary for players who prefer cooperative PvE. At the same time, the cost of the food‑based Gift of the Feast and supporting materials is substantial; players tracking market trends have pointed out that some required dishes briefly became more expensive than high‑end weapons, and that Glacial Shards and Fruits of the Shadow act as notable bottlenecks unless you are patient and well‑stocked. The overall structure is frequently likened to Aurora or Vision—broad, open‑world‑focused collections anchored in specific regions—but with fewer individual achievements and a heavier emphasis on cooking and Homestead systems.
Viewed in the wider context of Guild Wars 2’s design, Orrax Manifested feels like a deliberate attempt to thread multiple eras of the game together. It leans on the Eye of the North and old jumping puzzles like Chaos Crystal Cavern, makes heavy use of the newest Janthir maps and Mursaat ruins, pulls in Homestead farming from Janthir Wilds’ Hearth’s Glow, and taps long‑standing legendary patterns like Gifts of Darkness and Scales. The result is a legendary backpiece that is tightly woven into the Absolution arc, grounded in the Mists as an ongoing narrative resource, and strongly associated—both visually and culturally—with Charr characters and the broader Janthir Wilds era of the game.
