GW2 Commander Tag Cost & Where to Buy
The cost
| Item | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Commander's Compendium | 300 Gold + 250 Badges of Honor | Unlocks the standard diamond commander tag, account-wide |
| Catmander's Compendium | 300 Gold + 250 Badges of Honor | Unlocks cat-themed commander tags instead of the diamond |
| Second compendium (after owning one) | 150 Gold + 250 Badges of Honor | Discounted second variant — buy both for cosmetic flexibility |
| Activate / deactivate tag | Free | Toggle from the squad UI or hero panel |
| Change tag colour (9 colours) | Free | Switch any time — Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, Magenta, White |
Where to buy
Commander's Compendium
Purchased from a Commander Trainer NPC. Trainers are found in major cities and at WvW spawn areas:
- Lion's Arch — north-east plaza, near the Mystic Forge
- Divinity's Reach — Knight Captain's headquarters
- Black Citadel — Imperator's Core
- Hoelbrak — Great Lodge
- Rata Sum — Council Level
- The Grove — Pale Tree's Reach
- WvW spawn islands — every WvW map has a Commander Trainer near the keep claim NPC
Catmander's Compendium
Sold by hidden Blue and Yellow Catmander NPCs. They are intentionally tucked away in obscure corners of the map — finding them is part of the unlock. Online guides and the official wiki list the current locations.
How to earn the cost
300 Gold
Roughly 50–80 hours of consistent play depending on activity. Common gold sources:
- Daily fractals and dungeon runs
- World boss trains (Drytop, Silverwastes, meta events)
- Trading Post flipping
- Selling raw materials and luck
250 Badges of Honor
This is the WvW-exclusive currency portion — meaning you cannot buy a tag without playing some WvW. Sources:
- Skirmish chests (Bronze tier and above) drop badges as a baseline reward
- Killing enemy players — every WvW kill rewards 1 badge
- Capturing objectives — each capture grants 1–3 badges depending on type
- WvW reward tracks — many tracks include badge bags as rewards
- Daily WvW achievements — completion bags include badges
250 badges is roughly 4–8 hours of casual WvW play. By the time you have the gold, you almost certainly already have the badges.
Activate / deactivate
Once unlocked, click the squad icon on your minimap to open the squad UI. From there toggle Visible on or off. Visible-but-closed hides the icon to other players while still allowing your squad members to see you. The full Commander wiki covers squad mechanics, lieutenants, and tag conventions in detail.
An open commander tag publicly advertises that you are leading. Untrained tags wreck pug morale and waste players' time. Follow experienced commanders for hundreds of hours before opening your own tag.