gww>Dmitri Fatkin at 20:15, 14 July 2026

2026-07-14T20:15:16Z

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{{otheruses|the post-Searing NPC|the younger, pre-Searing NPC|Nicholas Sandford}}
__NOTOC__{{NPC infobox {{cycle|nicholasv}}
| type = Human
| affiliation = Tyrians
| name = Nicholas the Traveler
| service = Collector
| level = 20
| map1 = [[File:Nicholas the Traveler {{#var:NicholasLocation}} map.jpg|201px]]
| map1-text = Route to Nicholas's location in [[{{#var:NicholasLocation}}]].
| map2 = [[File:Nicholas Yakkington wallpaper.jpg|200px]]
| map2-text = Concept art by [[Katy Hargrove]].
}}
[[Nicholas the Traveler]] provides [[Gift of the Traveler|Gifts of the Traveler]] in exchange for various items to those that can find him. His location and requested item changes weekly, which occurs at 15:00 UTC ({{North American daylight saving time|8:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time|7:00 AM Pacific Standard Time}}) on Monday.

Each [[account]] is limited to 5 Gifts of the Traveler per week at each location; this resets every week on Monday, at the same time he moves.

==Locations==
===As a collector===
:''For the week beginning {{#time: j F Y| {{{date|now}}} -{{#expr: {{#time:N| {{{date|now}}} }} -1 {{#ifeq: {{#time:N| {{{date|}}} }} | 1 | {{#ifexpr: {{#time:H| {{{date|}}} }} > 15 | +0 | +7 }} }} }} days }} ([{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=purge}} Click to refresh this] if this is not the right week; future appearances are documented on the [[Nicholas the Traveler/Cycle|cycle]] page)''
*[[Guild Wars {{#var:NicholasCampaign}}|{{#var:NicholasCampaign}}]]
**[[{{#var:NicholasRegion}}]]
***[[{{#var:NicholasLocation}}]] (collecting {{#var:NicholasQuantity}} {{#var:NicholasItem}} per gift)
:''Reminder: The Traveler often will not appear if local spawns are affected by active quests and/or quest chains.''

===Other appearances===
*[[Guild Wars Beyond|Beyond]]
**[[Hearts of the North]]
***[[Far Shiverpeaks]]
****{{NPC location|Olafstead|explorable area}} (during [[The Wedding]])

==Dialogue==
===Collector dialogue===
{{Nicholas the Traveler dialogue}}

===Guild Wars Beyond===
;Olafstead (during The Wedding)
:''"It feels like only yesterday that Gwen was chasing after adventurers outside of Ascalon City. I'm glad that she has finally been able to find a bit of her own happiness, especially after all that she's been through. By the way, I was thinking of giving her some handmade hairpins as a wedding gift. If you could find me 3 [[Berserker Horn]]s I should be able to fashion a nice set for her.''
:''Just kidding! I got a few from one of the Vanguard scouts a little while ago!"''

==Background==
[[Nicholas Sandford]] (born 1035 [[AE]]) is an [[Ascalon]]ian traveler, a craftsman and a writer.

Nicholas met his [[dolyak]] friend, [[Professor Yakkington]], during a snowstorm in the [[Northern Shiverpeaks]]. The two managed to survive by huddling together for warmth and they have been together ever since.

Due to [[the Searing]], Nicholas lost his parents, friends and beloved [[Mary Malone]]. After having mourned in seclusion for years, his hair grown white, he started to travel [[Tyria (world)|the world]] and dropped his last name in favor of the moniker "the Traveler".

He has made many friends, including [[Gwen]] and [[Durmand]], and is often seen collecting items to aid them (especially Durmand or [[Zinn]]) in some form, or catering to Yakkington's whims.

A true craftsman, Nicholas is able to make various tools and even small sculptures out of various items he finds. Once he helped [[Vael]] by making a disguise out of [[Quetzal Crest]]s so Vael could spy on the [[Tengu]] of [[Cantha]].

In exchange, he has gathered up a hefty supply of exotic and unique items to put in his [[Gift of the Traveler|Gifts of the Traveler]], which he trades with adventurers in exchange for the items he needs.

Nicholas is very interested in local folklore, in fauna and flora. As a writer he has written a novel entitled "There with Yakkington: A Traveler's Tale.".

He also claims to be a gourmet chef, thanks to the various different foods he has tasted throughout his travels, which his friendship with [[Imperial Chef Yileng]] may suggest to be true, and a medic, as he is often seen trying to come up with some remedy to counteract various poisons (notably those inflicted by [[Dryder]]s or [[Rot Wallow]]s).

==Notes==
*Nicholas sometimes fails to appear in his expected location:
**Active [[quest]]s can alter [[spawn]]s in the area. To fix this, complete or abandon the local quests before returning. Alternatively, visit the area with a different [[character]] without the relevant quests.
**Some areas have variable spawns (e.g. [[Pockmark Flats#Notes|Pockmark Flats]]); [[re-zone|rezoning]] a few times will address this.
**He has sometimes failed to spawn due to the [[War in Kryta]] (e.g. in [[Kessex Peak (War in Kryta)]]); if not previously fixed by [[ArenaNet]], you can work around this by using a character who has not started ''WiK'' or dropping any [[Wanted!|relevant bounties]] for characters that have finished ''WiK''.
**[[Winds of Change]] might have a similar effect. For example, for the week of [[Putrid Cyst]]s, you must not have Winds of Change active. To temporarily undo Winds of Change, take [[Memories of Purity]] from the [[Herald of Purity]] in [[Kaineng Center]] (requires completion of [[Cleansing Morostav Trail]]).''
*Nicholas does not exchange items for gifts in two situations:
**If you enter an area ''before'' Nick's scheduled move time, but do not reach him until afterward, Nick will not speak to you at all.
**He attends [[The Wedding]] as a guest of [[Gwen]], but not as a collector.
*Nicholas has occasionally been found facing a random object, obstructive landscape, or a wall.
*Nicksets are commonly traded in [[Kamadan, Jewel of Istan|Kamadan]] or near the outpost where Nicholas is currently located. A nickset represents the exact quantity of an item required to obtain all 5 weekly Gifts of the Traveler. For example, if Nicholas requires 3 of an item per gift, a nickset consists of 15 of that item (3 × 5).
**Trading nicksets is generally beneficial for the buyer, as 5 Gifts of the Traveler are typically worth more than the nickset itself. The seller benefits from the convenience of not having to locate Nicholas in an explorable area. Note that prices are subject to fluctuation and may reach a point where Gifts of the Traveler are worth less than a nickset, making the trade unfavorable for the buyer.
{{bug|Sometimes his greeting and/or reward text is not translated into one or more non-English languages. Please report any issues at the [[Feedback:Localization_bugs|localization bug feedback pages]] so that they can be quickly resolved.}}

===Farming guides===
{{#vardefine:NicholasItemUnlinked|{{#explode: {{#explode: {{#sub: {{#var:NicholasItem}} | 2 }} | ]] }} | {{!}} }}}}
*GuildWiki's [https://guildwars.fandom.com/Guide_to_Item_of_the_Week_Farming farming guide].
*PvXwiki's [https://gwpvx.gamepedia.com/Guide:Nicholas_the_Traveler_Farming/list#{{urlencode:{{#var:NicholasItemUnlinked}}|wiki}} farming guide] (incomplete, see [https://gwpvx.gamepedia.com/Guide:Nicholas_the_Traveler_Farming/Archive the archive] for other entries).
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/WeeklyNickGiftFarms Nick Gift Farms] (YouTube video, featured in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110223142008/http://www.guildwars.com/community/news/ official 2011 community news]).

==Trivia==
{{gw2w|Gravestone_(Stronghold_of_Ebonhawke)|Nicholas Sandford}}
*Introduced in the [[Game updates/20090423|April 23, 2009 update]].
*Trivia related to Nicholas' dialogue can be seen on the [[Nicholas the Traveler/Dialogue#Trivia|dialogue]] page.
*Nicholas' novel, "There with Yakkington: A Traveler's Tale," is a reference to "There and Back Again: a Hobbit's Tale" by J.R.R. Tolkien.
*According to [[John Hargrove]]:
**Nicholas the Traveler was known internally as "Project Wumpus", a reference to the early computer game [[w:Hunt the Wumpus|''Hunt the Wumpus'']].<ref>[https://wiki.guildwars.com/index.php?title=Feedback_talk:John_Hargrove&diff=prev&oldid=1768704 Comment by John Hargrove], Guild Wars Wiki</ref>
**There are 137 possible "haunts" for Nicholas when he was introduced, translating to 2.6 years of travels.<ref>[https://wiki.guildwars.com/index.php?title=Feedback_talk%3AJohn_Hargrove&diff=1764808&oldid=1763863 Comment by John Hargrove], Guild Wars Wiki</ref>
*In the week of August 10, 2009, Nicholas mistakenly appeared in [[Arbor Bay]] requesting [[Krait Skin]]s (with ''"[[Trophy]] greet text here."'' as his dialogue), instead of in the [[Wilderness of Bahdza]].<ref>[https://wiki.guildwars.com/index.php?title=User_talk%3ALinsey_Murdock%2FTemp&action=historysubmit&diff=1628434&oldid=1627984 Comment by Linsey Murdock], Guild Wars Wiki</ref> 116 weeks later, he re-appeared in Arbor Bay requesting Krait Skins at [[:File:Nicholas_the_Traveler_Arbor Bay map.jpg|a slightly different location]] ([[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Arbor Bay 20090810 map.jpg|original location]]), ending two years of speculation about whether his initial appearance was part of the original (first) cycle or not.
*His location within a zone has changed seven times between the [[Nicholas the Traveler/Cycle/1|first]] and [[Nicholas the Traveler/Cycle/2|second (and current)]] cycles:
**[[Saoshang Trail]]: [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Saoshang Trail map.jpg|January 30, 2012]] versus [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Saoshang Trail 20110214 map.jpg|February 14, 2011]].
**[[Raisu Palace (explorable area)|Raisu Palace]]: [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Raisu Palace (explorable area) map.jpg|February 25, 2013]] versus [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Raisu Palace (explorable area) 20101115 map.jpg|November 15, 2010]].
**[[Magus Stones]]: [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Magus Stones map.jpg|May 27, 2013]] versus [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Magus Stones 20101101 map.jpg|November 1, 2010]].
**[[Kinya Province]]: [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Kinya Province map.jpg|July 22, 2013]] versus [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Kinya Province 20101108 map.jpg|November 8, 2010]].
**[[Sparkfly Swamp]]: [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Sparkfly Swamp map.jpg|November 25, 2013]] versus [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Sparkfly Swamp 20100531 map.jpg|May 31, 2010]].
**[[Dry Top]]: [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Dry Top map.jpg|December 9, 2013]] versus [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Dry Top 20110103 map.jpg|January 3, 2011]].
**[[Dragon's Gullet]]: [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Dragon's Gullet map.jpg|May 19, 2014]] versus [[:File:Nicholas the Traveler Dragon's Gullet 20110110 map.jpg|January 10, 2011]]

==References==
<references/>

[[de:Nicholas der Reisende]]
[[fr:Nicholas le Voyageur]]

Nicholas the Traveler - Revision history

gww>Dmitri Fatkin at 20:15, 14 July 2026