- "Hold" redirects here. For the PvP term, see Hold (PvP).
- As needed to complete a quest or mission objective.
- Providing a bonus while being carried or an effect when they are dropped.
- As result of casting an item spell, a Ritualist skill type.
- Your weapons are disabled: you cannot use them to attack (nor use attack skills) and you do not gain any of their benefits. For example, you lose the energy bonuses of focuses, the armor rating of shields, and the reduced spell recharge time of staves.
- You can only hold one bundle at a time.
- Your movement speed is reduced by 25% unless the bundle is created by an item spell.
- Some Ritualist skills have an effect based on whether the caster or allies is holding a bundle.
Item spells create a bundle which appears in the hands of the caster. The bundle conveys a bonus while being carried, an effect when dropped, or both. These bundles are typically named Ashes of X, where X is a historical person in Guild Wars lore; e.g., Protective Was Kaolai creates an Ashes of Protective Kaolai, while Mighty Was Vorizun creates an Ashes of Vorizun.
There are several ways to cause a bundle to drop:
- Pressing the Drop Item button.
- Pressing the target lock button on the Hero Panel.
- Switching between weapon sets.
- Picking up another bundle or casting another item spell.
- Shadow stepping. The bundle is dropped before, not after, the step.
Bundles will also be dropped involuntarily:
Many bundles, including all those generated by item spells, are destroyed when dropped, especially if they cause an effect. For example, dropping Powder Kegs causes an explosion and removes the keg from the game.
A bundle can be associated with up to two skills: one affecting the character who carries the bundle and one affecting targets in an area of effect around the bundle when it is dropped. Some skills serve both functions, having different effects in the two situations. There is generally no delay between dropping a bundle and the effect taking place (however, Lively Was Naomei delays 3 seconds).
List of bundle items
List of skills activated by bundles
|Skill. Use the Flame Staff to destroy spider webs and egg sacs.||Eye of the North|
|Skill. The power of the Staff of the Mists heals you and your allies for 30 Health every 4 seconds and drains 30 Health from all nearby foes every 4 seconds.||Nightfall|
|Skill. Remove 3 conditions from adjacent allies.||Bonus Mission Pack|
|Skill. Deal 100 damage and inflict Bleeding condition (5 seconds) to nearby enemies.||Bonus Mission Pack|
|Hex Spell. (30 seconds.) Target foe moves 33% slower.||Prophecies|
|Item Spell. Hold Saidra's Ashes for up to 300 seconds. While you hold her ashes, you gain +30 maximum Energy. When you drop her ashes, all party members are healed for 200 Health.||Eye of the North|
|Signet. Surrounding foes are knocked-down and begin Burning.||Prophecies|
|Signet. Surrounding foes are trapped for 4 seconds and take 20 damage.||Core|
|Skill. Deal 100 damage to nearby enemies.||Bonus Mission Pack|
|Signet. Affects nearby foes. Deals 200 fire damage and inflicts Burning condition (5 seconds).||Eye of the North|
|Signet. Deals 1,337 damage to nearby foes.||Eye of the North|
|Signet. Deals 200 damage to nearby foes when the unstable gelatinous material explodes.||Eye of the North|
|Skill. You move 33% faster (30 seconds) while holding this bundle. When you drop this bundle, all allies in the area are healed for 100, and all foes in the area are set on fire (8 seconds).||Core|
|Signet. When dropped, the invigorating mist is released. It restores 300 Health to you and all adjacent creatures.||Eye of the North|
|Spell. Projectile: Throw an improvised Fire Bomb at target enemy's location. When it explodes, all foes in the area take 300 damage and begin Burning for 10 seconds.||½||8||Winds of Change|
|Trap. Create an improvised Fire Trap that lasts 90 seconds. When improvised Fire Trap is triggered, nearby foes are struck for 300 damage each second for 3 seconds, and suffer from Burning for 5 seconds. While activating this skill, you are easily interrupted.||2||8||Winds of Change|
|Signet. When dropped, the invigorating mist is released. It restores 30 points of energy to you and all adjacent creatures.||Eye of the North|
|Skill. Harbingers can only be damaged by dropping the Light of Seborhin next to them.||Nightfall|
|Skill. As the magic of the Staff of the Mists runs through your veins, you gain +4 Health regeneration||Nightfall|
|Skill. Heal adjacent allies for 100.||Bonus Mission Pack|
|Signet. You feel the power of the Scepter. (+10 maximum Energy)||Prophecies|
|Signet. The power of the Scepter flows within you. (+1 Energy regeneration)||Prophecies|
|Signet. Resurrect all allies within range.||Core|
|Spell. You are protected by the Shield of Saint Viktor. 80...1280 damage is absorbed.||Factions|
|Spell. Drop effect: players in the radius of the urn share 500 points of damage reduction.||Factions|
|Spell. The Spear of Archemorus is powered by the souls of those dying within its radius. Dropping it will cause Archemorus to deal 10...235 damage to any enemy within the spear's danger zone.||Factions|
|Signet. Surrounding foes are Bleeding and Crippled.[sic]||Prophecies|
|Skill. Knock down nearby enemies.||Bonus Mission Pack|
|Signet. Hits nearby foes. Deals 100 damage and inflicts Bleeding and Burning conditions (10 seconds) when this crystal explodes.||Eye of the North|
Skills that have an effect when holding a bundle
|Elite Spell. Deals 20...64...75 lightning damage. You gain 5 Energy and 5...41...50 Health if you are holding an item.||5||1||4||Channeling MagicZ||Nightfall|
|Spell. Deals 5...77...95 lightning damage. Deals 5...29...35 additional lightning damage if you are holding an item.||10||2||4||Channeling MagicZ||Factions|
|Elite Spell. Deals 10...54...65 lightning damage to target and nearby foes. You gain 10 Energy if you are within earshot of a spirit or holding a bundle item.||10||1||8||Channeling MagicZ||Factions|
|Binding Ritual. Creates a level 1...11...14 spirit (15...51...60 second lifespan). Allies in range holding an item gain 15...39...45 maximum Health and 10 maximum Energy.||5||¾||30||Spawning PowerZ||Nightfall|
|Enchantment Spell. (5...17...20 seconds.) Your weapon and item spells cost 5...29...35% less Energy. No effect unless holding an item.||5||1||20||Spawning PowerZ||Nightfall|
|Spell. Heals for 10...82...100. You gain 3 Energy if you are holding an item.||5||¾||4||Restoration MagicZ||Factions|
- Although shadow stepping forces the caster to drop their bundle, teleportation does not.
- Bundles cannot be placed in a player's inventory.
- Herald's Insignias add +10 armor when a character is holding an item.
- Bundle names are always displayed in white.
- If a player drops a bundle while moving, the player's weapons will appear in its place and the player will run carrying the weapons in the same fashion as they were the bundle until movement ends.
- As expected, any change in movement speed from carrying a bundle stacks with any other speed effects.
- Before April 25, 2006, enemy AI focused aggro on anyone carrying a bundle. This behaviour was removed right before the release of Guild Wars Factions, likely because it would otherwise have made Ritualist Item spells too dangerous to cast.
| Axe • Sword|
Spear • Wand
| Daggers • Hammer • Scythe|
Bow • Staff
|Off-hand only||Focus • Shield|
|Types||Caster • Martial|
|Other||Bundles • Inscriptions • Upgrades|