New Year's GW Resolution

[[FnG] Marksman]

It's time for an update. And, hopefully, some developments.

A good deal of time has passed since I was properly able to sit down to a game of Guild Wars. Heaps of stuff has been happening over the last few months, and most of that's fine and good - I get married this year and that is rightly getting lots of attention and effort directed towards it. There's other stuff too that's enjoyable and great as well.

My beef is that here is this whole game that I love to play and explore, and it's sat on my PC doing nothing. I've gone to the trouble and expense of buying the Eye of the North expansion pack and have barely seen any of it; I think that's a great shame.

It's so bad that I can't even remember where in EotN any of my characters are. I think my Mesmer's somewhere in the East (something-or-other Uplands?), and perhaps two of the others have poked their noses into the very early territory, but I think that's it. What a pity, the whole adventure looks fun and exciting and I'm missing out because I can't plan my time well enough.

I have therefore made a New Year's resolution to try and get through the game this year, and I thought that if I popped a record of that intention into this forum, it would help me stick to it. The project (and I must treat it as such if I'm to make any progress and enjoy the game) starts this Friday evening, about 8:00pm UK time. I'll get a couple of hours then to start things off, and if anyone else fancies going right back to the start of GW:EN and playing it through with me, I would be all the more pleased.


Now there's a resolution I think I can keep.

[[FnG] Da Kril]

Sounds good, Mr. Markymarksman! I'll try to get on wif ya some weekend mornings (my time).

In aid of keeping track of where you are — take 10 minutes and log into your toons, make note of where they are and what quests/missions, and go put that info into Lambik's super nifty and swell Guild Wars database. (clicky)
Then just update it with a couple clicks every time you finish something. It has a complete list of EotN storyline missions/quests.

It's super-friendly and helpful — see at a glance where your toons are and where they need to be.
(Lambik did a great job on it.)

Free of charge, too,
--kril out--

[[FnG] Silke]

Hi

I think i have some chars that have not got to far in EotN and even if i dont play this game to often anymore it would be fun to drag them trough it also.
I will try to jump in now and then and see if i can give you a hand.

If you see me online give me a shout.

/Silke

[[FnG] Marksman]

Thanks Silke, duly noted.

Well, things got off to a good start on Friday evening. I knew I had a following wind when, upon introducing my Ranger (I just love that profession - there are so many different ways to play the game) to the Far Shiverpeaks who should appear but me ol' pal Johon the Oxflinger, who gracefully gave up his own bow when slain. First green drop in ages ... eighteen months or more, probably, and could be used by the character that took him down, too. Awesome.

After that it was onward to the north and then west, all the way to Vlox's Falls with only a couple of hiccups en-route. Thank goodness for Olafstead. I still couldn't find my way to Gunnar's Hold, though, which is apparently a useful target destination. I'm focusing on the core missions, but found time to take on the early, easy Wintersday quest and enjoyed the silliness and decorations in the Eye of the North monument. Good fun.

I still experienced that horrible shudder when I realised that the towns and outposts in GW:EN are as geographically dispersed as Prophecies. I can never stifle a groan when going through a sequence of portals to find that, oh, it's another Explorable Area. Other than a colossal JPEG map - some 5 Meg or more and therefore tricky to Alt-tab to - tucked into my GW folder I still have no way of snappily referring to a map for help when locating the next waypoint. Without a guide I'm often lost in a heavily hostile zone and end up backtracking endlessly to find the one and only through-route out of a territory. I find that I have to go in prepared: research all the locations and likely opponents (taking a moment to investigate their skills and locations) and equip accordingly. In a way it's quite 'realistic', although without the Guild Wars Wiki I'd definitely be snookered.

It was good to watch some of the cut scenes and watch the story behind the Destroyers' emergence in GW:EN. I love Maurice LaMarche's voicing of Vekk - the Asura are a characterful bunch and his deadpan delivery of Vekk's lines are excellent. Generally Guild Wars's voicing is terrible or comical (often both, eg. Shiro) but that was most enjoyable. I'm looking forward to forging on in the lush Arbor Bay area when I'm next at the game station. It's a good story.

I'm still unclear on how to manage and equip heroes. In combat situations I'm pretty hopeless, so I'm usually too busy trying to discern what's going on in a fight and managing my own crisis! How do you get elite skills for Heroes? Surely they don't expect me to fork out for ALL their weapons, skills, add-ons and inscriptions? I haven't even played all the professions yet so a Necro or Dervish Hero is going to end up with a trifling skill set that won't cut it against most enemies. It's all a big hazy area for me and one I think I may end up ignoring.

Another point of confusion is all these books that you can pick up. Pardon the pun, but what's the story with those? What are they for, other than clogging up two storage slots? How many are there in the game and which ones, if any, are crucial to a player's progress?

Anyway, overall the progress made was great and it was so nice to get a handle back on Tyria's world. Even now I think the game looks wonderful and I can't wait to see what the next chapter unveils.

[[FnG] Silke]

Will be on tonight hope to see you there and have a few games with you and if we are lucky we can shout on TS and get some attention.

[[FnG] Marksman]

Last night was a good night for Guild Wars. I knew there wasn't going to be time to get through the reputedly tough dungeon in Arbor Bay (Shards of Orr) to find Gadd so I went back to the start to make progress in another of the game's directions, and it paid dividends. Several pieces of the puzzle fell into place and now I'm much better prepared for the next stage of the adventure.

My question about getting elite skills for Heroes was answered when adding Gwen to a party for the first time (in my only other foray into EotN I'm the Mesmer so there's no need for two). Flipping through her skillset I suddenly realised that all of my character Vex Peculiar's skills - including the elites - were in the list, right in plain sight. "Why didn't I notice this before?" I asked myself, and the answer to that was obvious too. I don't own Nightfall, and at the start of GW:EN you pick up two Heroes in the shape of Vekk and Ogden: an Elementalist and a Monk - the two professions I hadn't played as when I started in Eye of the North. Of course!

-------

In the past with GW:EN I've made the mistake of trying to journey too far, too fast. The introduction to the story when you reach the Eye of the North Monument and look into the Scrying Pool gives you three optional breadcrumb trails to follow. The Charr and the Asura are races of interest to me which, previously, made me chase those branches of the central mission and trudge off into the far East or West, largely unsighted and usually with a hefty DP.

In fact, there is a 'best' order in which to tackle the story, and that's to investigate Jora's plight first. The quests are shorter and lead you to some important checkpoints in the Far Shiverpeaks; ones that can be usefully employed as staging points for the next collection of quests.

Having met Jora and learned about her problem it was off to Gunnar's Hold and then Sifhalla to find out more and launch an assault against the cursed Nornbear, the growliest, snarliest bear in all of Tyria. At least so far.

With the Nornbear slain and an interestingly different passage of play with the Volfen skillset, the stage is set for more intriguing developments as the story opens up yet further.

[[FnG] Marksman]

Has anyone got any experience of completing the dungeon areas in EotN with heroes and henchies? I'm getting a bit frustrated because I'm at the point where I need to progress the story by completing these areas, but my team mates really aren't up to the task. Find Gadd? I can't even get within 20 miles of him. Cathedral o' Flames? Cathedral o' Respawns, more like.

I find that the problem isn't with my char that much - I can survive fine most of the time - but the heroes and henchmen are really prone to setting off all the traps, attracting a series of spikes and getting us all finished off within minutes of entering a dungeon.

Now, before anyone says it, I know these are higher level areas and that players are expected to have a good accumulation of experience, skills and equipment. And, to a moderate extent, I do, but the enemies in these territories are a really high level and the groups are much bigger too.

Sometimes I can't even get to the dungeon entrance before some AI in the party has over-aggroed and gotten everyone slain. I notice there aren't that many PUGs around these days either, which doesn't help.

Can anyone suggest any tips for a Ranger or Mesmer to get some success here? Trapper builds, Shutdown skills, hero/henchman selection, flagging guidance, ... all tips welcomed. Cheers.

[[FnG] Silke]

Sorry ,cant help you there i am more of an agro char myself i run in set everything off and then Lily or Sphinx have to res me.
But i think there are some people here who are good at this lets hope they see this.

[[FnG] Da Kril]

@ Marksman: EotN, heroes and not failing so much
First of all, don't worry — I've done most everything in EotN successfully a number of times with heroes and hench.
And if a clown like me can do it, then you can do it.

TIPS!
• Always remember to display your Asura/Norn/Ebon/Delver title for very useful bonuses, depending on where you are. These buffs apply to your heroes too!

• On your toon: Always carry a flatbow and learn to pull. Stop short of mobs (flag hero/hench if needed), and you go pluck something and back up to your party. This is the most important trick to not over-aggroing. Bring that mob back to you. (Remember to switch out of the bow!)

• Rune up your heroes. The template I use is armor-buffing insignias and a mix of attribute and vitae runes and a major vigor. And get them max weapons with +armor and/or +health on them. You can do it your own way, but do it. (pay attention: it does matter what body part you put some things on) Depending on maj vigor prices, figure about 5K per hero for outfitting.

example Protection Monk hero
head: anchorite's insig + maj Protection rune
chest: anchorite's insig + rune of vitae
hands: anchorite's insig + major vigor
legs: Survivor's insig + rune of vitae
feet: anchorites's insig + maj Divine Fav rune

example Minion Bomber Necromancer hero
head: minion master insig + maj Death Magic rune
chest: minion master insig + rune of vitae
hands: Bloodstained insig + major vigor
legs: Survivor's insig + rune of vitae
feet: minion master insig + maj Soul Reaping rune

—> Also important: your monks/backline need to be set to 'avoid combat' and your casters need to be set to 'guard' on their hero control palettes. (If you haven't done this yet, you'll be delighted how "sane" your heroes suddenly become!)


• Run Sabway (clicky to read more) on your heroes:

	Necromancer / Ritualist 8 Soul Reaping 12 Curses 2 Restoration Magic 10 Channeling Magic You gain 8 Energy whenever a non-Spirit creature dies near you, up to 3 times every 15 seconds.

Prophecies Spiteful Spirit 10 2 15 Elite Hex Spell. For 18 seconds, whenever target foe attacks or uses a skill, Spiteful Spirit deals 29 shadow damage to that foe and all adjacent allies of that foe. (Attrib: 12 Curses) Core Barbs 5 2 10 Hex Spell. For 30 seconds, target foe takes 12 more damage when hit by physical damage. (Attrib: 12 Curses) Core Enfeebling Blood (PvE) 8 1 1 10% Spell. Target foe and all nearby foes suffer from Weakness for 17 seconds. (Attrib: 12 Curses) Factions Splinter Weapon (PvE) 5 1 5 Weapon Spell. For 20 seconds, target ally has a Splinter Weapon. Target ally's next 4 attacks deal 35 damage to up to 3 adjacent foes. (Attrib: 10 Channeling Magic) Nightfall Rip Enchantment 15 1 5 Spell. Remove 1 enchantment from target foe. If an enchantment was removed, that foe suffers from Bleeding for 21 seconds. (Attrib: 12 Curses) Nightfall Signet of Lost Souls 8 ¼ Signet. If target foe is below 50% Health, you gain 58 Health and 6 Energy. (Attrib: 8 Soul Reaping) Nightfall Death Pact Signet (PvE) 12 3 Signet. Resurrect target party member with your current Health and 26% Energy. The next time that ally dies within 120 seconds, so do you. (Attrib: 2 Restoration Magic)

Curses Necro

Mark of Pain is good for optional spot

	Necromancer / Ritualist 12 Soul Reaping 12 Restoration Magic You gain 12 Energy whenever a non-Spirit creature dies near you, up to 3 times every 15 seconds.

Factions Weapon of Warding (PvE) 5 1 10 Weapon Spell. For 7 seconds, target ally has a Weapon of Warding that grants target ally +4 Health regeneration and a 50% chance to block. (Attrib: 12 Restoration Magic) Factions Mend Body and Soul 3 ¾ 5 Spell. Target ally is healed for 96 Health. That ally loses one Condition for each Spirit within earshot. (Attrib: 12 Restoration Magic) Factions Spirit Light 4 1 5 17% Spell. Target ally is healed for 156. If any Spirits are within earshot, you don't sacrifice Health. (Attrib: 12 Restoration Magic) Factions Protective Was Kaolai 25 1 10 Item Spell. Hold Kaolai's ashes for up to 51 seconds. While you hold his ashes, you gain 10 armor. When you drop his ashes, all party members are healed for 70 Health. (Attrib: 12 Restoration Magic) Factions Life (PvE) 20 ¾ 10 Binding Ritual. Create a level 11 Spirit with 220 Health and 68 armor. When this Spirit dies, all non-Spirit allies within its range are healed for 6 Health for each second this Spirit was alive. This Spirit dies after 20 seconds. (Attrib: 12 Restoration Magic) Nightfall Signet of Lost Souls 8 ¼ Signet. If target foe is below 50% Health, you gain 82 Health and 8 Energy. (Attrib: 12 Soul Reaping) Factions Flesh of My Flesh (PvE) 4 5 Spell. Lose half your Health. Resurrect target party member with your current Health and 17% Energy. (Attrib: 12 Restoration Magic)

Healing Rit/Necro

Xinrae's Weapon for optional elite

	Necromancer / Monk 12 Death Magic 9 Soul Reaping 9 Protection Prayers You gain 9 Energy whenever a non-Spirit creature dies near you, up to 3 times every 15 seconds.

Nightfall Jagged Bones 15 1 5 Elite Enchantment Spell. For 30 seconds, whenever target undead servant dies, it is replaced by a level 12 jagged horror that causes Bleeding with each of its attacks. (Attrib: 12 Death Magic) Core Animate Bone Minions 5 3 15 Spell. Exploit nearest corpse to animate two level 10 bone minions. (Attrib: 12 Death Magic) Core Death Nova 2 5 Enchantment Spell. For 30 seconds, if target ally dies, all adjacent foes take 85 damage and are Poisoned for 15 seconds. (Attrib: 12 Death Magic) EotN Masochism (PvE) 20 1 5 Enchantment Spell. For 28 seconds, you have +2 to your Death Magic and Soul Reaping attributes and sacrifice 4% of your maximum Health when you cast a spell. (Attrib: 9 Soul Reaping) EotN Putrid Bile 12 1 10 Hex Spell. For 17 seconds, target foe suffers -3 Health degeneration. If that foe dies while under the effects of this hex, all nearby foes take 73 damage. (Attrib: 12 Death Magic) Core Protective Spirit 5 ¼ 10 Enchantment Spell. For 16 seconds, target ally cannot lose more than 10% max Health due to damage from a single attack or spell. (Attrib: 9 Protection Prayers) Core Aegis (PvE) 30 2 10 Enchantment Spell. For 9 seconds, all party members within earshot have a 50% chance to block attacks. (Attrib: 9 Protection Prayers) Nightfall Signet of Lost Souls 8 ¼ Signet. If target foe is below 50% Health, you gain 64 Health and 6 Energy. (Attrib: 9 Soul Reaping)

Minion Bomber Monk

When running Sabway, I usually skip a tank in the party (the minions are the aggro meat).
In general in EotN, for henchmen I go Mhenlo (heal), Herta (nice ward + damage), Ranger Zho or Mesmer Lo Sha (interrupt), and Aidan (Barrage ranger).

(Cynn does lots of damage with Meteor Shower, but I don't like how she often mis-times it.)
So Barrage is pretty good, plus the rangers have more armor and tend to stay back.


• In general, any EotN Charr fight, bring anti-fire damage buffs or skills. Almost all the damage will be fire damage. (Mantra of Flame, party-wide heals, Herta henchman, +armor vs.elemental dam)

• Finding Gadd, Finding the Bloodstone: Hex and condition removal skills are helpful. Remember to display that Asuran title for extra base energy.

• Oh, answering a question from earlier — about the books: you want to keep a Hero's Handbook with you because when it's 'full' (the missions/quests are checked off as you do them) you turn it in for big bonus of Asuran/Norn/Ebon Van/Delver reputation points. These points RAISE YOUR REPUTATION with the four races, which in turn does three things: improve custom PvE skills you get from the four races, improve the bonus you get when you display the individual reputation titles, and eventually build up your rep to unlock elite armor and HANDY consumables for your toon.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Post if you're having specific trouble (certain quest or whatever), and we'll try to help out,
--kril out--

[[FnG] Torgo 3000]

Unk. Kril speak truth.

Also, there are still competent PUGs to be had on specific days. If you head over to the Great Temple of Bathazar, you can pick up Zaishen Bounty quests. These quests often involve killing the end boss of a dungeon. On the days when those are offered, you can go to the starting areas for the dungeons, and find PUGs ranging in skill level from utterly hopeless to rockstar, i.e., the full range we're all use to seeing by now. Many of the most experienced players will only want to be in a Hard Mode group, but if you get some heroes decked out in the manner that Kril describes, you can probably at least find a Normal Mode partner with similarly equipped heroes -- and that is a far cry better than going with vanilla hench, in my experience. Maybe an FnG'er in your time zone could be persuaded to BE that partner.

Anyway, my $0.02.