To get a Glider, you have to have either Heart of Thorns or End of Dragons unlocked as these are the only two expansions that allow you to unlock Gliding. Path of Fire and Secrets of the Obscure expansions don’t have the option to unlock gliding, but rather they unlock Mounts instead.
Each expansion has its way of unlocking the Glider, here are all the details.
How to unlock Gliding in Heart of Thorns
Gliding was introduced in Heart of Thorns, and getting it is pretty straightforward. Simply unlock the Glider Basics Mastery, and you will instantly gain access to the Glider.
You can unlock the Glider Basics Mastery after have accumulated enough Mastery experience and have at least 1 Mastery Point. The best way to do that is by playing through the Main Story in Heart of Thorns, exploring the maps, or completing events in the Maguuma Jungle.
Once you unlock Glider Basics, you will then be able to further hone your Gliding skills by investing more Mastery Points in the track, which we will cover later.
How to unlock Gliding in End of Dragons
To unlock Gliding in End of Dragons, you have to simply enter Cantha. This can be done in two ways, either by completing the Old Friends quest or by using Teleport to a Friend option that takes you straight to Cantha.
How to use a Glider in Guild Wars 2
Gliding is pretty straightforward, it consists of literally pressing the same button twice. Here are the steps to GW2 Gliding:
- Unlock the Glider either by unlocking the Glider Basics Mastery or completing the Old Friends quest.
- Jump from anywhere of remotely high altitude.
- Press the space bar while in mid-air to deploy your Glider.
- If you don’t have the Advanced Gliding Mastery, watch out for your endurance bar as Gliding will still cost you endurance.
Gliding is extremely important and is a core mechanic in parts of the game. For example in the first map of Heart of Thorns, you have to use the Glider to reach certain Verdant Brink Hero Points, and even Mastery points.
In some maps like Bloodstone Fen, Lake Doric, and Dragon’s End, you can unlock new account-wide Glider skills that can be used only in those maps. These maps are just examples, and you can actually find more examples like this all over Tyria.
Gliding in WvW and PvP
You can’t Glide while in PvP. However, in WvW you can, but you have to upgrade the WvW War Gliding Mastery. The first upgrade costs three World Ability Points, and you can only do it within territories that your server has under control.
Glider Masteries
| Mastery | Points Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Glider Basics | 1 
|
Gain access to Gliding. |
| Updraft Use | 2
|
Allows you to use updrafts located in different parts of Tyria and Cantha. |
| Lean Techniques | 3
|
Allows you to lean forward while gliding giving you increased gliding speed. However, you will constantly consume endurance as you lean forward. |
| Stealth Gliding | 5
|
Learn how to go invisible while gliding. This consumes 50% of your endurance. |
| Advanced Gliding | 8
|
Gliding no longer consumes endurance, but using Lean techniques still does. |
| Ley Line Gliding | 12
|
Glide through ley lines allowing you to travel much faster and reach places you previously couldn’t |
There is one mastery in the Jade Bot track that is called Gliding Booster Mastery. It costs 
How to Get Glider Skins
Unlocking Glider skins can be done in two ways, either by collecting certain back items that can also be used as Glider Skins or by purchasing them directly from the Gem Store.
You can change the Skin of a Glider at any point in time as long as you are outside of combat. It will only cost one Transmutation Charge.
