Guild Wars 2 Rift Amplification: How to Unlock Every Tier
Guild Wars 2's Code of Creation update adds the Rift Amplification mastery line — here's how to unlock every tier and beat Depths of Cruelty.
Guild Wars 2's Code of Creation update went live on September 15, closing out the Visions of Eternity story and dropping a new mastery line that changes how you deal with rifts across Tyria. If you finished the campaign or are catching up now, Rift Amplification is the system worth prioritizing first — it gates the new Leyspring Hollows meta-event, the Nexus of Eternity raid, and the Solitary Throne fractal behind a handful of straightforward unlocks. Here's exactly how to get there, what each tier actually does, and what to do once you're maxed out.
01Guild Wars 2 Code of Creation, Explained
Code of Creation is the fourth and final act of Visions of Eternity, sending your character into the depths of Castora to stop the Inquest's Director Vloxx across six new story chapters. It adds Leyspring Hollows, a cavernous new zone built around ley-line phenomena and the spectral Stewards of Galdra, plus the Nexus of Eternity raid, the Solitary Throne fractal, and a 50-player convergence version of the Nexus fight. Challenge mode for the raid unlocks September 29, with the legendary raid difficulty following on October 13.
The map itself is built around one central hook: Rift Amplification, a four-tier mastery line that determines how much of Leyspring Hollows' rift content you can actually engage with. Unlike a lot of expansion masteries that mostly unlock convenience — faster gliding, an extra mount skill — this one directly controls your access to the zone's hardest open-world fight, so it's worth treating as a prerequisite rather than an optional side-track.
You'll need to have played through Visions of Eternity's earlier chapters to reach Code of Creation at all; the story picks up immediately from where the expansion's previous act left off, and Leyspring Hollows won't unlock on the map until you've cleared the opening chapter of the new content.
02How to Unlock Rift Amplification in Leyspring Hollows
Rift Amplification only becomes available once you reach Leyspring Hollows through the Code of Creation story, so finish that opening chapter before you go hunting for mastery points elsewhere on the map. Once you're in the zone, the first tier trains automatically as you interact with the local rift events — you don't need to grind a separate currency before you can start earning experience toward it.
The four tiers build on each other in strict order, and each one unlocks a genuinely different way to play the zone rather than just a passive stat bump:
How to Unlock Rift Amplification, Tier by Tier
- 1Finish the opening chapter of the Code of Creation story to unlock Leyspring Hollows on the map and open the Rift Amplification track.20-30 min
- 2Interact with active rift events in the zone to start earning mastery experience automatically. This tier lets you use the Heart of the Obscure to find alternate routes to the rift you're tracking.10-15 min
- 3Complete the first phase of a rift event, then overcharge it with a matching-tier motivation for tougher enemies and better rewards — the tier your squad needs before attempting Depths of Cruelty.30-45 min
- 4Unlock this tier to use Rift Tears and the Heart of the Obscure on any rift across Tyria, not just inside Leyspring Hollows.30-45 min
- 5Finish the line to overcharge any Heart of the Obscure-accessible rift in the game, maxing out the mastery.45-60 min
- 6Look for a tagged commander running the meta-event in LFG rather than a loose open map, and follow their overcharge callouts.20-40 min
Because every later tier depends on the one before it, there's no way to skip ahead by buying mastery points with gold or converting spare mastery experience from an older expansion. If you're aiming to max the line before your first attempt at Depths of Cruelty, budget one or two full Leyspring Hollows sessions of rift-hopping rather than expecting to finish it in a single lap of the map.
Keep an eye on your inventory while you farm: rift events reward Rift Tears directly, and the currency has a use beyond the mastery track itself — the Heart of the Obscure vendor in Leyspring Hollows exchanges stacks of them for map-specific crafting materials once you've unlocked the third tier, Tearing Across Tyria.
03How to Beat the Depths of Cruelty Meta-Event
Depths of Cruelty is Leyspring Hollows' headline meta-event: a multistage fight against the newly crowned Director Kuda and the Inquest that ArenaNet deliberately built to run on a three-hour cycle rather than the usual two, specifically because it demands more coordination than a typical open-world map meta. Player decisions during the early phases change how the later stages play out, so pugging it blind on your first attempt is rougher than it needs to be — read the event chat callouts and follow the squad's lead on which rift to overcharge first rather than freelancing.
Having at least the second Rift Amplification tier, Overcharged Rifts, unlocked before you attempt Depths of Cruelty matters more than raw gear score. It lets your squad intentionally push rift difficulty up for better rewards during the setup phase, which is how organized groups shorten the overall fight instead of grinding through Kuda's full health bar the slow way. Commanders running the event in LFG will typically call out when to overcharge and when to hold back, so it's worth joining a tagged squad rather than a loose open map for your first few clears.
The map closes an hour after the meta-event resolves, so don't wander off exploring side content mid-cycle if you still need to collect your loot bags or turn in event currency at the nearby vendors.
04Nexus of Eternity, Solitary Throne and the Legendary Rewards
If Depths of Cruelty is the zone's open-world centerpiece, Nexus of Eternity is its instanced one. The encounter started life as a 50-player convergence fight and now doubles as a 10-player raid, built as one continuous multi-phase battle instead of the rotating-boss format earlier Visions of Eternity raid wings used. That structure means there's no "easy first boss" to warm up on — squads need to be ready to execute mechanics from the opening phase, so pulling with a full comp and a clear strategy matters more here than in a wing with multiple separate encounters.
Solitary Throne, the accompanying five-player fractal, pits your group against an Eternal Tyrant boss through a run built around hazard navigation rather than a straight gear check. Treat it the way you'd treat any new fractal in its first weeks: expect the group-finder meta to still be settling, and don't assume a build that trivializes older fractals will automatically carry you through hazards that are still new to most of the population.
Clearing story content in Leyspring Hollows earns the Tenebral Ward armor set in light, medium and heavy weights, while the Shining Ward weapon set — all fifteen weapon types at exotic quality — is craftable once you've picked up the recipes from the new content. The Wages of Stars legendary sword, the update's headline reward, ties into the zone's rift and raid content rather than being a pure map-completion reward, so don't expect to finish it in a single weekend even if you clear the story on day one.
05Common Mistakes to Avoid on Your First Trip to Leyspring Hollows
The biggest mistake players are making so far is treating Rift Amplification like a background mastery track you'll passively finish over weeks, the way you might with an older expansion's gliding or mount masteries. Because it directly blocks meaningful participation in Depths of Cruelty, showing up to the meta-event with only the first tier means you can follow the fight but can't contribute to the overcharge mechanics your squad needs — which is exactly what tanks a pug's clear time.
The second mistake is skipping straight to Nexus of Eternity or Solitary Throne before spending any real time in the open-world map. Both instances assume you already understand rift overcharging and hazard timing from Leyspring Hollows itself, and squads made up of players who skipped that step tend to wipe on mechanics that the open-world event already taught everyone else for free.
Finally, don't sleep on the map's timing: because Depths of Cruelty runs on a three-hour cycle and the map closes an hour after it resolves, checking the event timer before you commit to a full Leyspring Hollows session saves you from arriving just after a fresh reset with nothing to do until the next window.
06Should You Jump In Now or Wait?
If you're mid-way through Visions of Eternity's earlier acts, finish those story chapters first — Code of Creation assumes you've already dealt with the expansion's build-up, and Leyspring Hollows won't make much sense narratively without that context. If you're already caught up, the efficient order is: finish the new story to unlock the zone, farm rift events until Rift Amplification is maxed, then look for a tagged Depths of Cruelty squad through the in-game LFG tool rather than soloing your first attempt on an open map.
ArenaNet has confirmed Code of Creation is the last major content drop for Visions of Eternity, with the raid's two harder difficulties rolling out over the following month rather than at launch. If you're newer to the game and want context on how this expansion fits into the series before diving into six new story chapters cold, this overview of Guild Wars 2's expansion history is worth a skim first.
The journey continues. Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity: Code of Creation arrives September 15. Are you ready?
— Guild Wars 2 (@GuildWars2) — Aug. 11, 2026 on X
FAQ
Do I need to own every Guild Wars 2 expansion to play Code of Creation?
You need Visions of Eternity and access to its earlier story chapters, since Code of Creation continues directly from where the previous act left off.
How long does the Depths of Cruelty meta-event take?
It runs on a three-hour cycle, longer than the two-hour cycle most map metas use, and the map closes about an hour after the fight resolves.
Can I use Rift Amplification outside Leyspring Hollows?
Only after the third tier, Tearing Across Tyria, which extends Rift Tears and the Heart of the Obscure to rifts across the rest of the game.
How do I get the Wages of Stars legendary sword?
It's tied to Leyspring Hollows' rift and raid content rather than pure map completion, so expect to combine story progress, Nexus of Eternity participation, and crafting over several sessions rather than finishing it in one sitting.
Is Code of Creation the end of the Visions of Eternity story?
Yes, ArenaNet has confirmed it as the finale, though the raid's challenge mode and legendary difficulty roll out later, on September 29 and October 13.
Official resources
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