Guild Wars 2’s latest expansion, End of Dragons, introduces the player to a new mount; the Siege Turtle. The Siege Turtle is the first mount that can carry two players instead of one. In order to be effective with the Siege Turtle, the players will have to communicate and work together. Learn more about the Siege Turtle down below.
How to unlock the Siege Turtle?
The new Siege Turtle mount is unlocked by completing a collection. This collection unlocks after completing the Dragon’s End meta in End of Dragons.
Since this meta is hard and is prone to fail, an alternative method was added. By buying a Turtle Egg from Peddler for 200 Writs of the Jade Sea you will unlock the collection as well.
Need some help unlocking the Siege Turtle? Check out Rediche’s video about the Siege Turtle Collection.
How does the Siege Turtle work?
The Siege Turtle is the first mount in Guild Wars 2 that can carry two players. It is also the first mount that is meant to be used in combat! On the Siege Turtle, one player is the driver and the other player is the gunner. The player that summons the Siege Turtle will be the one driving and controlling the Siege Turtle. The player that joins the Siege Turtle will be the gunner.
The driver
The driver is the player that summoned the Siege Turtle. The driver is also able to control, jump and move the Siege Turtle. The driver is also to use the Jump Jets to hover the Siege Turtle above the ground. You can cover a lot of distance using these jets. Enemies that stand under the Jump Jets will get burned.
Furthermore, the driver also gains access to a number of skills that the gunner does not have access to. The Slam skill let’s the Siege Turtle slam the ground and creates a cone of damage (see image) in front of the turtle. This Slam skill also inflicts damage to a target’s defiance bar and thus allows you to stun your target. It’s also of importance that the driver keeps moving the Siege Turtle. Moving the Siege Turtle recharges the ammo that the gunner can use to fire. So, if you don’t move, your gunner will eventually run out of ammo!
The gunner
The gunner is the player that joins the driver’s Siege Turtle. The gunner is able to fire the Siege Turtle’s Siege cannons using the Turtle Siege skill. You only have a limited amount of ammo you can fire. Ammo gets refilled by the Siege Turtle’s movement. Your current ammo is displayed above your skill bar.
The gunner also gains access to Hunker Down, a skill that converts incoming damage to ammo and incoming conditions to boons. This comes in handy when you are under heavy fire. Next to Hunker Down, the gunner also gains access to Overdrive. Overdrive increases the maximum speed and acceleration of the Siege Turtle thus letting it move faster.
Siege Turtle Masteries
Siege Turtles have a specific set of Masteries tied to them. Whenever you unlock Mastery Points in End of Dragons you’ll be able to make your Siege Turtle a lot stronger.
| Mastery | Mastery Description |
|---|---|
| Turtle Health Boost | Your turtle’s health is now doubled. |
| Slam Mastery | Your turtle’s Slam will now generate 25% of an artillery shot per enemy struck. |
| Improved Jump Jets | Your turtle can now jump farther and higher using its jump jets. |
| Power Shell | You’ve learned Power Shell, allowing you to convert incoming damage into ammo from the passenger seat. |
| Sharing is caring | Your turtle’s health boost will now be applied to all other mounts. |
Underwater Movement
Unlike the Skimmer, another Guild Wars 2 mount, the Siege Turtle won’t be able to move flexibly underwater. Instead, the Siege Turtle will sink to the bottom and is able to walk the surface. You can, however, move back up using the Jump Jets.
You can fight enemies underwater but instead of aiming your shots you will be using a ‘tab-targeted’ system. This makes your shots (almost) unmissable and easier to aim.
Siege Turtle vs. the Skimmer or Springer
The Siege Turtle isn’t a solid alternative for the Skimmer or the Springer. Although the Jump Jets work great it does not hold up against the Skimmer’s ability move fast on and underwater. For moving around on water, I would still chose the Skimmer or Skyscale (for short distances).
The Jump Jets go high but not as high as a Springer can jump. Therefore, the Siege Turtle isn’t a solid alternative for the Springer. Also, the Springer has a great Crowd Control (CC) ability that the Siege Turtle lacks. You have the Slam skill but that’s slower compared to the Springer’s Cannonball.
The Siege Turtle is the middle ground between the Springer (on land) and the Skimmer (underwater). But unlike the Skimmer and Springer, the Siege Turtle CAN be used in combat.
Dying the Siege Turtle
Players are able to Dye their Siege Turtle. So, if you don’t like the default colors of your mount you can change them at no cost. Like all other mounts, it has one dye box. This means you can only dye one specific part of the mount and you can only choose one color for it.
That’s about all I have for now about Siege Turtles. I’ll update the article as soon as more information is available!
