1. What Prestige Is — The Foundation
Prestige in VvW is a voluntary reset system with five tiers (P1 through P5). When you Prestige, your character level resets to 1. What you keep is equally important as what you lose: your bank gold remains intact, items stored in your inventory carry over, and you gain a permanent cumulative Prestige Bonus that applies across all future playthroughs.
Each Prestige tier stacks. A P3 character does not just have the P3 bonus — they have P1, P2, and P3 bonuses simultaneously. By P5, these stack to provide a substantial permanent advantage in XP gain rate, combat effectiveness, gold drop multipliers, and crafting efficiency. The system is designed so that a P5 character who has invested the time to reach that point is visibly, mechanically rewarded for having done so.
Crucially, Prestige does not touch your ELO rating, your faction standing, your clan membership, or your achievements. You enter each new Prestige run with the social and competitive infrastructure of your pre-Prestige self — just with a level 1 character that needs to be brought back up to speed as efficiently as possible.
QUICK REFERENCE
Each Prestige tier takes roughly 20–35% less real time than your first Level 1–80 run, depending on how well you execute the strategies in this guide. P1 is the hardest because you're learning the system. P2 through P5 should be progressively faster.
2. Before You Prestige — The Full Checklist
The difference between a smooth Prestige run and a frustrating one is almost entirely decided in the ten minutes before you click the Prestige button. Do not skip this preparation. Players who rush Prestige without completing this checklist lose hours of efficiency on the back end.
PRE-PRESTIGE CHECKLIST
- Move all gold to the Bank — gold in your inventory does NOT carry over, gold in the Bank does
- Store all gear you want to keep in your inventory — equipped items will be unequipped but inventory items are preserved
- Complete all active Weekly Quests — these reset on Prestige and cannot be retroactively claimed afterward
- Clear your current highest dungeon one final time — D10 Mythic+ clears do not carry over but the weekly loot chest does
- Claim all pending achievements — unclaimed achievement rewards expire on Prestige reset
- Check the Seasonal Event calendar — do not Prestige mid-event unless you have completed all event-exclusive milestones
- Complete your current Mastery track if within 10% of a milestone — Mastery carries over but partial progress toward the next tier does not
- Spend all Dungeon Tokens from the token vendor — they reset to zero on Prestige
- Confirm your clan officer knows you're about to Prestige — some clans have war commitments that require active members
- Screenshot your current skill tree build — you'll need to rebuild it from memory unless you have it noted elsewhere
3. Fastest Re-Leveling Path by Phase
The optimal leveling route changes significantly by level bracket. The following path has been tested and refined by high-Prestige players and represents the current fastest route as of patch v1.x. It assumes you have banked gear from your previous run — see the Gear Strategy section for specifics.
Phase 1: Level 1–20 — Tutorial Momentum
Do not skip the tutorial quest chain even on your second or third Prestige. It rewards disproportionate XP for the time investment and unlocks zone access earlier than grinding the same mobs solo would. Complete every tutorial quest in order. Supplement with Zone 1 and Zone 2 mob clearing in the gaps between quest objectives. Target: Level 20 within the first 2 hours of active play.
Phase 2: Level 20–40 — Zone Efficiency
Transition to Zones 3 and 4 at exactly Level 20 — do not linger in Zones 1–2 beyond what the quest chain requires. At Level 25, you unlock D1 (Dungeon 1), and from Level 25 to 35 you should be running D1 and D2 daily alongside Zone 3–4 mob grinding. Dungeons in this bracket give substantially better XP per stamina than open-world grinding. Target: Level 40 within your first 6 hours of active play post-Prestige.
Phase 3: Level 40–60 — Dungeon Core
Dungeons D4 through D6 become available in this bracket and should replace open-world grinding almost entirely. The Daily Quest system reaches full daily capacity at Level 45 — from this point, always exhaust all daily quests before they reset. They are among the most XP-efficient activities in the game on a per-stamina basis. Do not neglect D3 either if D4 or D5 is not yet cleared — partial clears still give XP, just no loot chest. Target: Level 60 within 14 hours of active play.
Phase 4: Level 60–80 — War and Endgame Dungeons
The Eclipse War becomes your primary XP source alongside D7 through D10. Eclipse War participation — specifically faction battle objectives, not just passive contribution — gives the second-highest XP per hour in the game during active war phases. At Level 65, unlock D8 and prioritize it. D9 and D10 are available at 70 and 75 respectively. Push each as soon as your gear level allows. Target: Level 80 within 24–28 hours of active play, depending on Eclipse War schedule and dungeon clear speed.
| Phase | Level Range | Primary Activity | Secondary Activity | Target Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 1 – 20 | Tutorial quests (Zones 1–2) | Zone 1–2 mob grinding | ~2 hrs |
| Phase 2 | 20 – 40 | D1–D2 daily clears | Zone 3–4 grinding | ~4 hrs |
| Phase 3 | 40 – 60 | D4–D6, daily quests | D3 fill-in, Zone 5–6 | ~8 hrs |
| Phase 4 | 60 – 80 | D7–D10, Eclipse War kills | Daily quests, faction objectives | ~12–14 hrs |
4. XP Sources Ranked by Efficiency
Not all XP sources are equal. The table below ranks every major XP source by XP per stamina point, which is the most useful metric for planning your daily play sessions.
| XP Source | XP / Hour | Stamina Cost | Efficiency Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Quests (full board) | Very High | Low | S-Tier | Always do first; resets every 24h |
| Eclipse War — Battle Kills | High | Medium | A-Tier | Only available during active war phase |
| Dungeon First Clear (daily) | High | Medium | A-Tier | XP bonus on first clear of day per dungeon |
| Eclipse War — Objective Captures | Medium-High | Low | A-Tier | Underused; highly efficient with clan coordination |
| Weekly Quests | Medium | Low | B-Tier | Large lump XP reward; do not miss reset |
| Dungeon Repeat Clears | Medium | Medium | B-Tier | Still worth doing after daily bonus is claimed |
| Zone Mob Grinding | Medium | High | C-Tier | Best in early phases; falls off after Level 40 |
| Arena Wins (ranked) | Low-Medium | None | C-Tier | No stamina cost makes it worthwhile despite lower XP |
| Crafting (discovery) | Low | None | D-Tier | New recipe discoveries give small XP; not a primary source |
5. Using Prestige Bonuses During Re-Level
Here is the compounding arithmetic that makes rushing Prestige worthwhile: at P1, your character has a +10% XP gain bonus permanently applied to all sources. This does not sound dramatic, but over 80 levels of grinding it translates to roughly 15% less real time to reach Level 80 compared to your first run — assuming equivalent play efficiency.
At P2, the XP bonus stacks to +20%. Your Dungeon Token earn rate increases. Your daily quest rewards scale up marginally. At P3, a new mechanic unlocks: Veteran's Fortune, which gives a chance for double XP on individual mob kills in dungeons, based on the dungeon's tier relative to your level. P4 and P5 add additional multiplicative effects that compound on everything below them.
The practical implication: do not treat each Prestige run as identical. On your P1 run, you are still learning the system. On P3 and above, you should be treating the re-level as a mechanical exercise to execute as cleanly as possible — the bonuses are significant enough that a well-executed P3 run reaches Level 80 meaningfully faster than a P1 run even with identical play patterns.
P1 TIME ESTIMATE
A focused P1 player following this guide can reach Level 80 again in approximately 24–30 hours of active play. A P5 player executing the same path, with full stacked bonuses, can reach Level 80 in approximately 16–20 hours. The bonuses are real and substantial.
6. Gear Strategy During the Prestige Run
One of the most significant differences between your first Level 1–80 run and all subsequent Prestige runs is that you have a full inventory of gear from your previous playthrough waiting for you. This advantage is enormous if used correctly — and wasted entirely if ignored.
The core principle is simple: equip stored gear as soon as the level requirement is met. Do not craft or buy new gear for level brackets where your stored gear already covers the requirement. The power differential between using your previous-run Level 60 gear at Level 60 versus using freshly crafted Level 55 equivalents is substantial — it directly translates to faster dungeon clears and fewer deaths, both of which affect XP efficiency significantly.
Organize your stored gear before Prestiging by level bracket. Know that your Phase 3 gear kicks in at Level 45, your Phase 4 gear at Level 60, and your endgame gear at Level 70. When you hit those levels on the Prestige run, equipping stored gear should take less than thirty seconds if you've organized it correctly.
What to Store vs. What to Leave Behind
- Store: Your best set-bonus gear at Level 40, 60, and 75 brackets. Named items with significant bonuses. Crafted gear with Tier 3+ enchants.
- Do not store: White or grey quality items from early zones — these are not worth inventory space. Generic crafted gear without enchants from below Level 40.
- Consider: If you have a full Level 80 gear set with Mythic enchants, store two sets — your re-level set (stored gear from prior brackets) and your endgame set for after Level 80.
7. When to Prestige Again — Don't Rush P2
The temptation after reaching Level 80 on your P1 run is to immediately Prestige again and begin stacking toward P2. Resist this. The minimum requirement to unlock P2 Prestige is completing Dungeon 10 Mythic+1 at least once. This is the gate that ensures P2 players have genuinely engaged with the game's endgame content, not just speed-leveled through it.
D10 Mythic+1 requires gear levels that take time to acquire after reaching Level 80. Attempting it under-geared is possible but inefficient — you'll spend more time on wipes than you would waiting a few sessions to gear up properly. The fastest path to a legitimate P2 unlock is:
- Hit Level 80.
- Complete D10 Normal once (unlocks Mythic mode).
- Run D7–D9 Mythic+1 for two to three sessions to reach the gear threshold for D10 Mythic+1.
- Clear D10 Mythic+1 — this unlocks P2 Prestige.
- Complete your outstanding weekly quests, check the achievement list, then Prestige.
Players who skip this requirement — or who rush to P2 before completing D10 Mythic+1 — are not leaving for a better position. They are locking themselves out of the unlock and wasting a Prestige on a run that won't advance them.
IMPORTANT
D10 Mythic+1 completion is checked at the moment of Prestige, not retroactively. If you cleared it in a previous run but did not have P1 yet, you must clear it again after reaching P1 Level 80 to unlock P2. The system requires the clear to happen within the current Prestige tier's Level 80 session.
8. Common Prestige Mistakes — What Loses You Hours
These are the most frequent mistakes we see from players attempting their first or second Prestige. Each one can cost between thirty minutes and several hours of efficiency on your re-level run.
Prestiging with Gold in Your Inventory
The single most common and most costly mistake. Gold in your inventory at the time of Prestige is lost. Gold in the Bank is preserved. There is no recovery mechanism, no GM refund, no undo. Before you click Prestige, navigate to the Bank and deposit every single gold piece you own. Do this last, immediately before confirming the reset.
Not Completing Achievement Milestones
Achievements persist across Prestige runs but unclaimed rewards do not. If you are 50 dungeon clears into a 100-clear achievement and sitting at 99/100 kills on another, finish both before Prestiging. The rewards — particularly the Prestige milestone achievements that give permanent unlocks — are not retroactively awarded if you crossed the threshold without claiming them.
Skipping Mastery Grinding at Level 80
The Mastery system tracks passive skill development that carries over across Prestiges. Players who Prestige immediately after hitting Level 80 without spending their Mastery points and grinding any remaining active Mastery tracks are permanently leaving bonuses on the table. Every Mastery tier you complete before Prestiging is a free cumulative bonus you carry into the next run. Spend 2–4 sessions at Level 80 specifically on Mastery before resetting.
Choosing the Wrong Skills on Re-Level
Coming back from Prestige, there is a temptation to experiment with different skill builds since you're re-leveling anyway. This is fine to do eventually, but your first Prestige run should prioritize XP efficiency above all else — and the fastest XP builds are well-documented in the skills guide. Save experimental builds for when the Prestige bonuses make your re-level fast enough that slower XP builds don't cost much real time.
Ignoring the Eclipse War During Re-Level
Some players skip Eclipse War participation during their Prestige run because they're "too low level to contribute." This is incorrect from Level 30 onward. Eclipse War objectives include tasks — scouting, supply delivery, minor skirmish participation — that are accessible to lower-level players and grant disproportionate XP relative to the stamina cost. A re-leveling player who integrates war objectives into their routine will reach Level 80 notably faster than one who treats Prestige as a purely solo PvE activity.