WvW Supply Guide

World vs. World (WvW) in Guild Wars 2 is a war for dominance. Like any good war, soldiers must be properly supplied for battle and this goes above and beyond weapons and armor. Towers, Keeps, and Siege Weaponry needs resources to repair walls, build upgrades, and construct powerful offensive and defensive weaponry. These resources are called “Supply” which is a resource used in WvW for construction and repair.

Supply serves three major purposes in WvW. The first is a means of construction, as previously mentioned, and the second as a way to give smaller groups a way to break away from larger forces and contribute to the battle. Towers and Keeps that are under siege require supplies in order to keep the walls and doors from falling while attackers need supplies to build rams and other siege weaponry to break into the keep. The third is as a way to break a Keep or Towers defense, if said Keep or Tower is heavily defended. Supply starvation is a viable tactic whenever a stalemate arrives.

Supply Basics

Each player initially spawns with 10 supply (located in the top / middle section of the U.I.) which is also the maximum amount any player can hold. Supply is replenished at Supply Depots located in Resource Camps, Towers, and Keeps.

Supply is generated at Resource Camps and transported by Pack Dolyak Caravans, which spawn from Resource Camps and move on designated routes to allied Keeps and Towers, where they replenish the supply. The amount each caravan carries depends on the upgrades of the Resource Camp.

Supply Depots

Supply Depots reside within Resource Camps, Towers, and Keeps. They each can hold up to 100 supply before upgrades (Resource Camps receive a 25 supply limit increase with each personnel upgrade). Friendly players can receive up to 10 Supply by interacting with the Supply Depot.

However, it’s important to note that only Resource Camps automatically resupply themselves. Towers and Keeps rely on caravans to replenish their stock. NPCs and Quartermasters utilize supplies for repairs and upgrades, meaning that sometimes it’s better to leave a depot alone than to restock there. On the other hand, if a keep is about to fall, getting as much supply out of the depot is crucial as the supply trades hands when the keep is taken.

Utilizing Supply

With all of this talk about supply, we haven’t talked about the fun ways to use it. You can’t really judge the importance of a resource until you understand how it is utilized in the field of war. There are only three uses for supply – repairs (walls and doors), upgrades for Resource Camps, Towers, and Keeps (via Quartermasters), and siege weaponry (both defensive (no-blueprint) and offensive (blueprint required).

Players can only use their Supply to build siege weapons and repair structures while the Supply in the Supply Depots are used for upgrades.

Repairing Structures

You can use supply to repair walls and doors within Towers and Keeps. You can repair even if a structure is under attack, negating ongoing damage. However, you may not be able to out repair multiple Golems/Rams – in these instances it’s much better to fall back to the inner keep (within Keeps) or try to focus the siege weapons down.

Structure Upgrades

Supplies are used for various upgrades at Resource Camps, Towers, and Keeps. The supply used for upgrades comes directly from the Supply Depot, meaning that the Supply must first exist in the depot for the upgrades to be purchased. Players cannot refill supply depots, as previously mentioned, so making sure not to take from a keep where players are going to purchase the upgrades is important.

Siege Weaponry

There are multiple types of siege weapons that you can build. They come in two forms, offensive (weapons that players can build within the world) and defensive (stationary weapons usually bound to a structure).

It’s extremely important to understand that only Siege Golems can be moved. Any other siege weapon will be affixed to the location. Whenever you utilize a blueprint, a build site will appear that allows anyone to use supply in order to build the siege weapon. It’s another important note that the last person to supply a build site will get the first chance to use a siege weapon.

Offensive Weapons
   Arrow Cart (30 Supply): Anti-player weapon, fires arrows at the target on the ground, but does not damage structures.
   Ballista (20 Supply): It fires a large bolt that does damage to structures and players, but is difficult to aim.
   Catapult (50 Supply): Does ground targeted damage to walls, gates, and enemies, but only does moderate damage.
   Flame Ram (40 Supply): Deals heavy damage to gates, but is very weak to oil and attacks.
   Alpha Siege Golem (100 Supply): Essentially a portable ram, a player can load themselves into it and move it / assault sturctures.
    Trebuchet (100 Supply): Long range siege weapon, great for taking the walls down on heavily fortified Towers / Keeps.

Defensive Weapons
   Boiling Pot of Oil: Does massive damage below the pot of oil and inflicts Burning. It must be focused before players can begin building rams / assaulting the door.
   Cannon: It can fire three types of ammo (normal, Bleed condition, and Freeze condition) and works similarly to the Arrow cart.

Running Supply

As mentioned above, it’s a really bad idea to take supply out of Stonemist or any Tower/Keep that needs to be upgraded. It’s also tough sometimes to get enough supply to keep a sieged keep standing or to get the siege weapons up to knock the door down. That’s why you’ll need people running supply. The best way to go about it is to focus on a swiftness build that can maintain swiftness and have enough defensive abilities (like Mist Form) to get you through the attackers and in through the gate.

It’s best to take supply from the following locations first: upgraded Resource Camp > upgraded Keeps & Towers > Resource Camp > Towers > Keeps. It’s best to let Keeps upgrade the most, as Towers are fairly disposable (there are twice as many and they count for less).

There is a lot to such a small mechanic and many players overlook the importance of Supply, but hopefully you understand how viably important those 10 Supply points you have are. What do you think about the Supply mechanic? A great idea or something you plan on out and out avoiding. Let us know in the comments section below.