|
One of my big regrets in GW is that I forgot to bring along Charm Animal when I beat Factions for the first and only, thus far, time. I wanted a pheonix. :/ Oh well. A crane isn't a bad second choice.
|
| # ? Aug 27, 2011 23:31 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2013 12:29 |
|
|
Moa/Strider/Big loving Terrorbird and name it tweety pie.
|
| # ? Aug 27, 2011 23:40 |
|
|
Strider obviously. It's a fuckhueg bird, who doesn't want one of those?
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 01:36 |
|
|
Cythereal posted:One of my big regrets in GW is that I forgot to bring along Charm Animal when I beat Factions for the first and only, thus far, time. I wanted a pheonix. :/ Oh well. A crane isn't a bad second choice.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 01:54 |
|
|
U.T. Raptor posted:You can just beat the mission again and go back there, you know. I've considered it, but  . I don't really use my pet anyway.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 02:14 |
|
|
Cythereal posted:I've considered it, but The mission can be ran in under 2 minutes. No one has that much laziness.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 02:17 |
|
|
ApeHawk posted:The mission can be ran in under 2 minutes. Wait, what? The group I found that eventually did kill the bastard took a good 20 minutes or so... Not like I didn't know I'm kinda bad at this game before, but apparently I'm not unique in that respect.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 02:24 |
|
|
All you have to do is keep Shiro blind and use a hexing necro so he basically kills himself. Then its just a matter of making sure you have enough backup DPS to end Impossible Odds early which is not hard. Oh also another way is to use Shield of Judgment, since he can't be knock down he will just keep taking dmg. Should be pretty easy for someone with just heroes to do. CasinoV fucked around with this message at Aug 28, 2011 around 02:34 |
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 02:31 |
|
|
CasinoV posted:All you have to do is keep Shiro blind and use a hexing necro so he basically kills himself. Then its just a matter of making sure you have enough backup DPS to end Impossible Odds early which is not hard. I had an Elementalist/Mesmer use standard earth magic and the celestial skill to kill him. Don't remember the build, but it was drat effective. But yeah, Necros gimmick everything way too drat easily
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 02:37 |
|
|
Cythereal posted:I've considered it, but If you're really desperate, you can buy the unlock at the Zaishen Menagerie Grounds for coins or faction points. As for Shiro, bringing the shout "You're all alone!" works wonders as well, even with his Boss Resistance. Man, Guild Wars is such a gorgeous game to play, especially the EotN zones. If you could ever use some capped characters along once into the "real" game, I'd love to help.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 02:59 |
|
|
Cythereal posted:Wait, what? The group I found that eventually did kill the bastard took a good 20 minutes or so... I remember thinking that to. I joined up with a rag tag group of players and barely lost to him after a long battle. I assumed he was really hard to beat. Then I joined another group, and an Assassin solo'd him using broken skills. Made me feel really insignificant, but on the bright side I finished the campaign 
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 03:08 |
|
|
Internet Kraken posted:I remember thinking that to. I joined up with a rag tag group of players and barely lost to him after a long battle. I assumed he was really hard to beat. Then I joined another group, and an Assassin solo'd him using broken skills. Yeah. Was just run through it by an Elementalist for free. Then I realized I didn't know about releasing pets since I never used mine after Shing Jea and thus it was completely wasted due to my stupid crane. Guild Wars has many good things about it, but intuitive mechanics and a player-friendly interface are not among them. >_> Cythereal fucked around with this message at Aug 28, 2011 around 03:30 |
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 03:11 |
|
|
ApeHawk posted:I had an Elementalist/Mesmer use standard earth magic and the celestial skill to kill him. Don't remember the build, but it was drat effective. But yeah, Necros gimmick everything way too drat easily
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 03:40 |
|
|
Oh man this is making me want to play again, totally downloading this. R/Rt Splinter Barrage as soon as possible, TIA. The hilarity of a billion numbers popping up at once is so great.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 04:56 |
|
|
Crawford posted:Oh man this is making me want to play again, totally downloading this. Most likely should show off all the fancy ranger builds at some point. Touch ranger(Been alone time since I saw one of those), thumper, spear ranger, scythe ranger.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 05:06 |
|
|
Crawford posted:Oh man this is making me want to play again, totally downloading this. Oh gawd I remember killing so many teammates while playing through factions with this build. Four or five infected all popping at once took down many a warrior in my party (before they nerfed the damage down to an annoyance, that is).
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 06:16 |
|
|
Ahaha, I remember Touch Rangers. Had one invincible son-of-a-bitch named "Michael Jackson" or some derivative in an RA group once. Nobody could kill him, and he just kept touching people inappropriately until he was the last one standing. Splinter-Barrage got nerfed though  Splinter only triggers three times per activation now, so you can't get those hilarious chain reactions where you fire into a group of 5 and get 30 hit off.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 06:41 |
|
|
Alectai posted:Splinter-Barrage got nerfed though But, it was fun back then. Still is today.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 06:43 |
|
|
A Strider so it can go through Dark Transmogification, and eventually be food for your inevitable Black Widow named Cooper
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 10:28 |
|
|
Bear: 4 Strider: 12 Names: Kevin, Colin, Tweety Pie, Aragorn, Land Hawk Warthog: 3 Names: Pumbaa, Jeabus Panther: 0 because gently caress the panther Wolf: 0 because no one wants me to make a Night's Watch reference once I go north of the wall  Voting ends on Tuesday Afternoon.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 18:17 |
|
|
Name the Moa Pumbaa, because it'll be funny.
|
| # ? Aug 28, 2011 19:20 |
|
|
Prophecies Episode 3: Career Day for Soldiers Hello everyone! Last we left off, Ape Hawk managed to convince a crappy reject to dye his hair for the woman he  : Hey, I don’t have a problem with royalists. I have a problem with suckers.Heading back to Ascalon City, we decide to actually deliver Meerak’s message to Armin Saberlin.   : A message from Meerak, is it? Let me see that... This is grave news indeed. I hope he's mistaken about this. : You know he probably is. Dude ain’t exactly right in the head.: Dwayna protect us if this information is accurate. If such a thing is even possible, then King Adelbern has ordered this offensive against the charr not a moment too soon. We must not lose this fight, I tell you. We must not lose this fight.: Okay, what does the message even say? If this has you all riled up, then it has to have something interesting and important to read.: *whistles*: Oh, gently caress you…So, they don’t actually tell you what it is that Meerak actually told anyone. In fact, none of the notes that you deliver will be readable to you, and thus you have to actually depend on the NPCs’ reactions to those notes. It is really dumb. Plot Quest: A Secondary Profession  This actually activates the skill quest missions that you get from the other skill trainers. If it wasn’t obvious by my level bars, I’ve been posting the quests in an alternate order. It is no big deal whatsoever in-game (the chain quests I’ve posted in the right order, so don’t worry) and only did it for crappy role-playing purposes. Sorry. Anyway, after fed-exing our way through to plot, Ape Hawk decides to talk to his bro Tydus about the events so far.  : It's almost time for our offensive against the charr. I cannot ask you to come on so dangerous a mission until you've trained in a second profession. Even the best Ranger cannot handle every situation, but by combining two professions you can be more powerful and more versatile.: Why can’t I have three professions? Or four? Or all, for that matter? Seems dumb to limit us like that.: It’s a Gods thing. Every living thing in the world, even a rat, can learn two professions. They didn’t even explain it other than, “hey, be glad you get two. In over two-hundred-fifty years, we’re taking that privilege away.”: WHAT! Why?: Something about balance issues that they foresee in the next dozen-or-so years. It sucks, but you learn to make do.: I speak from experience, my friend. I have quite a reputation as a Warrior, but there are many times I've used my Elementalist skills to penetrate defenses that my sword cannot. I also considered the Monk profession for its healing ability, but for me dealing damage was more important. Either way could have been effective, but I chose the combination that suited me. Now you should go do the same.: I also considered the Monk profession for its healing ability, but for me dealing damage was more important.: for me dealing damage was more important.This loving statement is golden for everyone who wants to play Warrior in this game. And yet we still have people making Sir Tydus face palm. He-is-a-bro. ========== Side-Quest: Gwen‘s Flute Before taking more classes, we meet a little girl named Gwen outside the Ascalon City gates who needs some help.   : I lost my flute! I think I left it on the other side of the river, but there are so many monsters there and I'm afraid to go get it. Do you think you could get it for me?: Aw, sure thing, sweetheart. Don’t you worry, now!: Thank you! I can't wait! I know you'll find it. The flute will spawn only if you have the quest available. It literally just pops up once you walk to the river. Returning the flute to Gwen will open up some opens for us to obtain a certain item from her. : Oh no! It's broken! Now I'm going to have to get a new one.So, she needs a new flute since her old one got stepped on or gravity broke it or something. Well, luckily, the merchants everywhere sell them for a measly four gold. She will also follow you, and once she gets a new flute she will heal you for twenty health while in combat. She also has a BUNCH of little girl quotes that she will say over and over again. : Can I have that shiny new flute? Its so beautiful. I bet it plays pretty music.: I’m keeping it.: *sniffles*: Uh, I mean, uh, enjoy it!: Yay!I can't wait to try it.After a bit, if you have the Small Girl’s Cape that merchants sell for a whopping two hundred gold, she will see it and ask to have it. : Ohh!, You got a cape! Where did you find it? Can I have it please?: I’m keeping it.:  Wahhhh!: Okay, okay! Sure. It will look nice on you.: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Look how pretty it is!Once you give her the cape, she will wear it whenever you interact with her.  Afterwards, if you have Red Iris Flowers in your inventory, she will ask for one. : This flower matches my other flowers perfectly.If do all of these things (you’ll have to give her a few more flowers), then she will have a present for you this time. : You're my favorite person, after mommy. I think I'll give you my most favorite thing in the whole world. A tapestry shred, which will become a quest activation device later down the road. Like, way later. By the way, her mother is actually in the game. Her name is Sarah, and she resides over in Ashford, by the resurrection shrine. It’s not specified why they are so far apart, and I cannot find a reason for it. : Are you a hero, too, like Aidan and Devona? My daddy was a great warrior, but he died when I was seven. Mommy says maybe we'll see him again after we die. Do you think that's true?OR MAYBE SHE’S JUST AN AWFUL MOTHER WHO TOLD HER LITTLE DAUGHTER SHE WAS GOING TO DIE. ============ By the way, if you go further north up the river you found the broken flute, you will run into a Drake armed with a Water Magic spell.  : Eww! A big beetle!   Blurred Vision is pretty much a staple in Water Elementalist builds. It offers great defense, especially when used against balled-up foes, and you can almost always maintain it on them. It has seen some shaky changes, like it had a 2-second casttime and 20-second recharge and lasted 19 seconds at max duration, but Arenanet decided to make it easier to apply but with the catch that they had to keep casting it. Fair trade, I’d say. ============ Going outside of Ascalon City and walking straight right takes us to Althea’s Theatre, where we find our Mesmer teacher! Profession Quest: A Mesmer’s Burden    This is Lyssa, goddess of Mesmers and Energy Storage. Yeah, I’ll write a thing for her later, sure.  : Hey, lady. I’m here to see what Mesmers have to offer. So, whatcha got? : Oh, someone else. This time they send me a short hippie...: Hey, I resent that hippie part. I may be a Ranger, but that doesn’t mean I want to talk to butterflies or something.: Now, are you going to give me a stupid task or not? : That’s more like it!…Man, I am really being treated badly if I get excited over this.  Conjure Phantasm is a good degen skill. Pretty much unchanged since beta, it used to be a stable in Illusion degen builds until later expansions skills trumped it. Still useful.   Actually a good snare in PvP. It last 2/3 of its recharge time, but the energy cost makes it a bit too risky.   This bull is also the first enemy we see using an Elite Skill, which is a skill that performs a great task at the cost of only being able to bring one on your skill bar.   Bull’s Charge. drat, I miss seeing this used in PvP. Sword Warriors back in the first year of Guild Wars PvP used this skill like it was a blessing, because it was. Allowed them knock down kiting foes and beat on people. Sword Warriors did not have a useful Sword Elite Skill until Factions, so this was all they had to work with, aside from other utility elites. Just use Conjure Phantasm on the bull and he drops after three casts. You don’t even need to use Imagined Burden because he doesn’t even hit that hard. One dead bull later and we go to Althea, who appears to be talking to someone who appears distraught. : Old Mac has a bull named Bill, and he's really mean. Once I saw him chase a man and hurt him real bad. Someone ought to do something about him. If my daddy was here, he'd kill that old bull and carve him into steaks!: Uh, wait, what? : Aw drat…  Side-Quest: The Rogue’s Replacement   : You!: Dude, I am so sorry! She told me it was wild and rapid and annoying and she promised gold and stuff and-and-and-: You're the one who killed my bull, Bill! 'Twas at Althea's bidding, sure, but that's naught to me. If you and that Althea woman won't compensate me, I'll take my case to the constabulary, and I'll get satisfaction. That bull protected my farm for all these years. Who will protect it now?: Well, I can’t since I have bigger things going on, what with the war and everything, but trust me, if there is ANYTHING else I can do-: Hmm…You know what might do the trick? A devourer might, if I could raise it from a hatchling and train it myself. Tell you what: you bring me a Devourer egg, and we’ll call it even. What do you say?: …seriously? A scorpion? I mean, those things burrow in the ground; they aren’t exactly-… You know what, I have one right here, in my convenient invisible backpack. Here, all good now, Mac?: Ah, that’s lovely! A devourer all my own. I think I’ll call him Joe. Come Joe, let’s get you someplace warm and dry. Shhh… There’s a good egg.This is where I told you that doing that Devourer Egg quest will come in handy. Old Mac wants an egg to raise on his own, and you just happen to have an extra in your backpack. : I like crazy people. No matter how much they hate you, somewhere down the line they will make a deal for their approval and never bother you again…Mesmer Skill Quest: Domination Magic If you choose to become a Mesmer, this quest becomes available to you.     Ahh, yeah, Backfire! Used to have a 30 second recharge until Arenanet buffed it a long ways back. Now is a threat in PvP when facing Domination Hexers. Can deal somewhere around 150 damage at max rank.   Shatter Delusions is a great Mesmerspike skill. There is a certain Illusion hex that, when it ends, inflicts Deep Wound for 5 seconds. Great AoE skill in PvE, now. What you have to do is use Backfire on the enemy, who will spam Ice Spear indefinitely. The kicker is that if it will die from Backfire, it will not cast a spell, so you have to use Shatter Delusions to finish him off. I don’t know if this was intentional, since this is how all the AI in the game works with Backfire.    And we are done. Just keep yourself alive because you can die. ============ In Ashford Abbey, we find Mhenlo, who just happens to be our Monk teacher! Profession Quest: A Monk’s Mission  : Sup, Mhenlo. Find the poison yet? : Eh, turns out Meerak was wrong again. Sometimes I think I do this to humor the both of us.: I know I do. Hey, an escort mission. This one teaches you how to make other people’s red bars go up! Even though Healing Breeze is better at it at this point.   A great smiting skill. Deals moderate damage, but knocks your foe down when they are attacking. Was used in a gimmick build roughly 3 to 2 years ago, until Arenanet had enough.   This is your average healing spell. It’s reliable, but nowadays, the game has so many better healing spells, so Orison of Healing gets dumped for those. Still saw play in the earlier days though.  : Mommy says I shouldn't bother the grownups so much, but there aren't any children for me to play with. Besides, they're all so nice to me! Well, most of them are, anyway.: Oh Dwayna, what does your mother do to you…? : What, no intoductions? No life stories, no nothing?  : I think you and I will get together just well, pal. You just charge right into the situation. : Yep, just keep doing that, don’t talk to me at all. No seriously, I’ve been getting too many  spouted at me lately. It’s refreshing just to get stuff done.  It’s not that worth noting, but the swamp water we are in gives us 1 health degeneration (2 health per second). Orison of Healing is more for you, since Paul can actually make it there and back just fine with only a heal or two. Most people do this at level 1, so they are more vulnerable.   This is Grenth, god of the Underworld, Necromancers, and Cold Magic. In depth later.  Oh hey, that just came out of nowhere. Didn’t even see the item or a podium or anything.  That’s not how you carry a thing, Paul!  Then stop walking, Paul! : Smiting looks cool, but I don’t want to rely on everyone relying on me because they see me as a potential healer…Monk Skill Quests If you choose to become a Monk, these quests become available to you. The Blessings of Balthazar  This one teaches you that holy damage deals double damage to zombies and undead.   Retribution is a great farming skill. Maintain this on yourself, through up Protection enchantments, and watch them slowly kill themselves. Had great synergy with another skill, until Arenanet recently changed it.   Not that useful when it comes to sustained damage. It only deals damage at the point it is casted at, and the AoE causes the AI to scatter. Plus, you have to actually get up close to them, and no caster is going to do that. Useless in PvP.    Run up to them and use Symbol of Wrath (or just kill them). Quest done. Protection Prayers  Another escort mission, but with a twist: you have to enchant your buddy instead of spam heals on them. Much better alternative.   One of the best Protection Prayers spells in the game. Oh man, this is such a great skill. The damage it negates can range from 1 to whatever the spell says it caps at, so it has to be used wisely. Is a staple, if not THE staple in Prot Monk bars.   Another staple in Prot Monk bars. Once had a recharge of 25 seconds and a duration of 10 second. This version is much more manageable, however, and is seen as a great tool to have in PvP.  Just keep following Farrah and keep her alive. She deals enough damage to kill the bandits alone.      And with the leader dead, we are done with the quest. ============ Going inside the Ashford Abbey entrance into the Catacombs, we find our next Profession teacher! Profession Quest: The Necromancer Novice   : Not everyone can be a Necromancer. For example, one of my latest students went into the catacombs to summon a dark entity. Since he hasn't come back, I can only surmise his creation probably ate him.: Are you saying that you are a crappy teacher? Because it sound to me like you are a crappy teacher.: No, he just kept correcting me so I sent him off to try to raise the dead.: So, you are a crappy teacher. Gotcha. But, since you are the only Necro teacher, then show me your ropes. Or chains. Or belts.: …: I can’t help it! You all either look like you are Goth or into S+M!: Very well…If you will agree to destroy the nightmare he summoned, I will show you where he went and give you a spell to help. But I warn you, you'll have to be clever to get past the fire traps in that part of the tombs. Of course, if you fail, I shall use your corpse as fodder for the next, more worthy, student.: Yo, not in front of the little girl; she gets traumatized enough at home!  A common minion skill Good at both tanking damage and putting it out.   Before a recent update, this had a casttime of 2 seconds and a recharge of 2 seconds, making it very interruptible. Now it is very spammable and is a nuisance in PvP.  : When I grow up, I'm going to be a hero like my daddy. I'd like to be a warrior, but the Mesmer’s outfits are nicer, don't you think?: Eh, only if you are into artsy clothes. At least you ain’t choosin’ Elementalist… Yes, it’s impractical. Yes, it was a ploy to get Necromancers to go /Warrior and use Hammers. No, it did not turn out well.    What you have to do is use Animate Bone Horror to activate to Flame Geyser, which deal around 500 elemental damage. If you are a high enough level and are either a Ranger or Warrior primary, you can survive it.    Welp, there is her former student.  And this is her spell gone awry. Kill it, go back to Munne. : Well, it looks useful, and it messes with nature in almost every way possible, but do I really want to mess with Dan this much?Side-Quest: Rites of Remembrance  This is another tutorial on how to click on yellow text boxes on certain textures. Just go to the same place we helped keep Paulus alive and touch these:  Done. Now on to Wizard’s Folly. ============== Before we go to our next recruitment officer or whatever, we go to see Pitney out in Ashford, who has a new quest for us! Side-Quest: The Prized Moa Bird :  : Oh gently caress, seriously? Man, Pitster, today is just not your day!: Aye, you’re telling me…:  Pitney’s Moa is down in the Catacombs, and it’s a bit of a maze to get there. Hell, the whole drat place is a maze; the minimap always resets itself whenever you enter it, so you have to uncover ground every time you enter the place. Simply take the alternate route from the place you go to when you do the Monk’s Mission quest, and it will bring you to a straight path to the green arrow.      Oh, this doesn’t look good…  Yep, not looking good at all. This guy will pop up, but you do not need to kill him to advance the quest. Just walk to…  : Aw drat. Poor Pitney…Try to guess who did this, guys. I mean, it’s obvious, but not hinted at. It actually somewhat is a subplot thing. : My precious bird is dead? And part of some kind of ritual you say?: Yeah, and sorry I couldn’t bring her back to you, Pitty. I mean, you wouldn’t’ve wanted to see it anyway, and I nearly lost it when I saw her, and-I’m not making this easier for you, am I?: Just my luck…Well at least nothing worse can happen to me today. In any case, thank you for your trouble.: Anytime, Pitney. You are one of the few people I actually like around here.: By the way, the sword he gives you as a reward:   It shares the same skin as the super rare Crystalline Sword. This is one of the most expensive and hard to find weapons in the game, and even its tier-two color can fetch for a high price. As you can guess, this reward sword was a part of a really badly put together scam to get people to pay for this, thinking they will be getting such a rare sword. It didn’t work out well, as most would expect. ============ Minigame: The Prize Winning Hogs Before taking off to Wizard’s Folly to learn about Elementalists, Ape Hawk hears yet another disgruntled farmer.  : Aw great, now who needs my console? : Well, these hogs are impressive. I mean, I’ve never seen such a herd of hogs so perfectly similar to one another. Of course I’ll save your genetics-criticizing hogs, old man!Basically, the point of this minigame is to get the hogs into the pen. You do so by following the hogs from behind and manipulating their movement to get them inside. You are herding sheep, in other words.  : Dwayna-damnit, get back in the pen, you stinkin’-  : Yeah, I better get something good for all my hard wo-You get 25 gold. Yippee. : I see you again, you better add a couple zeroes to the end of this pocket change you gave me.============ Profession Quest: The Elementalist Experiment In the snowy region of Wizard’s Folly, we find a huge tower occupied by our next trainer:   And drat, look at that armor. I bet some of you would want that armor. You can’t get that armor  : Oh no, did Aidan send you? Look, I told him: my experiments are not making his wolf have hallucinations!: Haha, oh Dan. No no, I’m here to see elementalizing is my thing or not. Got any ropes to show me?: Oh. Oh! I know what might get you interested!   A good Damage-Over-Time spell. Once had a casttime of 4 seconds, but now it’s fine the way it is.   One of the best energy management skills in the game! Before Nightfall released, this only affected your next spell, not two. Since then, it has been drat useful, and has also seen some nerfs. : I wonder how many flowers it takes to fill a vase?: Aaaabout twenty-five small ones, fifteen tall ones at most. I don’t know why, but we actually had to learn that stuff to become a Ranger. Something about ‘uniting nature wisely’ or whatever. The premise of the quest is to use Fire Storm (or just kill) on the Ice Shards that spawn and attack you. There are three spawns, so it is best to wait for all three of them to spawn before using Fire Storm (Or, again, you can just kill them)   Because of how fast the Ice Shards go down and how little damage they deal, this is actually an okay spot to farm for items this early in the game. Drop rates are better in the tutorial zone than in the actual game. : Those monsters almost ate me!: Why would evil icemen eat a little girl? How would they eat a little girl? Why am I asking these questions…  A useful Ward spell that is great when you know you will facing a bunch of fire in closed quarters. : Hmm, I dunno. Fire is cool and all, but I can already do that. And apparently everything in this drat place can use Water Magic except me, so I can’t get those kitties wet. Yeah, I think I made my decision.============ If you take Elementalist as your profession, you get a Skill Quest available to you. Elementalist Skill Quest: The Supremacy of Air  Over at the giant tower is a Tower Guard. He’s an earth elemental that Ralena in Foible’s Fair wants you to kill just to show off to Aziure. Yes, apparently being an Elementalist means constantly being in pissing matches.   A great blinding skill, Blinding Flash has been a staple in Air Elementalist builds for a long time. One of the most easy blind appliers in the game. Also has seen a lot of changes in the past.   Lightning Javelin…is not that useful. Annoying, but Blinding Flash is better in almost everyway. The damage is nice, but Air Magic has plenty of damage skills.  Lightning Damage is super-effective against Ground-Types, guys. Pokemon was wrong. After killing it, go to Aziure, who says something snarky about Ralena or whatever. ============ ApeHawk fucked around with this message at Aug 30, 2011 around 19:34 |
| # ? Aug 30, 2011 16:45 |
|
|
Prophecies Episode 3: Career Day for Soldiers, Part Two Warrior Skill Quests We have already seen the Profession Quest for the Warriors, so let’s see the other skills we can learn. Warrior’s Challenge  What is this? A creature that the great Duke Barradin of Iceburn cannot trump? Surely, this is a jest!   A great knock-down for Hammer Warriors. The adrenaline loss is nothing too serious because most Warriors use this at the end of their chains. Pretty much untouched since beta.  Oh god, it has two heads! It’s not even two-headed; it looks like a conjoined twin or something.  This is really a three-second activation, and is more of a “hey, knock me down to stop me from healing” mechanic than an actual threat.  Eww… We’re done here. The Vineyard Problem  : Thar's trouble in the Duke‘s Vineyard. Large aloe seeds, nasty things, running amok. Take care of it, will yer? I'd be grateful, and the duke would, as well, I'll warrant.Bullshit, I know he planted the seeds himself just so he could kill them himself but the Duke found out and made him ask me to do it. Little Thom would never leave a monster unkilled by his hands. I know; I’ve seen it myself. Skills we get to kill the red seeds:   This is an okay skill to bring on its own, and is used in farming builds too. Does +10 damage at max rank, and is not that useful in PvP. Before, it used to just let your dude use the skill at anytime, but now your guy has to target someone and use it.   NOW WE’RE COOKIN’. Executioner’s Strike is one of the best Axe Skills in the game. At 14 Axe Mastery, it deals +38 damage, meaning you can hit a soft target for well over 100 damage. A must have on any Axe Warrior.  Stand next to them and…  UNLEASH TWISTY HELL! : Not for me at the moment. Again, I want to be as far away from the charr are possible, because they are an actual threat, and melee weapons redact that decision. Besides, the army has too many Warriors as is.============  And since you mostly chose Necromancer…  : Alright, now I get to…um, be even more bullshit than before! Yeah!Since we are a Necromancer now… Necromancer Skill Quests The Power of Blood  I had to save her myself. Grazden still a dick.  There are some undead guys we have to “take care with.” This is the skill that Kasha says they carry, and that we have to look out for.   Ouch. Dark Pact is a spammable damage dealing skill that has been in both spike and now pressure builds in PvP. Very annoying to face.   Ah yes, Vampiric Touch. Alone, this skill doesn’t do a lot. Then, when factions released, a duplicate of this skill was made called Vampiric Bite. It was then that Rangers discovered that Expertise affects touch skills, and with high enough Expertise, can turn the 15 energy cost into a 5 energy cost. Combine this with the spammability of both those skills and the Blood Magic line having more energy management skills, plus the defensive stances the Expertise line is, and you are looking at a very annoying build to face. Unless, you know, you decide to snare them or something.   This is a good self-heal…if there are no enemies around to steal life from. Was recently buffed to be more manageable, but life-stealing is still better and the Blood Magic line has tons of self-sustain skills. But, still a good skill.  Whenever you learn/acquire a new skill, you get this menu. Just select the skill you want to swap out for the new one, or don’t at all.  We’ll be taking the entrance from Green Hills County. : Some day I will be a famous musician!: Man, you are way too young to be thinking about being a rockstar. I was fifteen when I started, and my hopes were crushed when they told me that ‘short dudes don’t sell concert tickets’… : I mean, what does that have to do with anything, right? : Tons of small guys were famous back in the day. I can’t name them, but I heard they were good. I think a few were dwarfs… : I don’t want to play the race card, but I think it was because I was human. Goddamn touring centaurs never gave me a chance! : NOT DARK PACT, KASHA.  Vile Touch…isn’t that useful. You may think it would be good in toucher builds, but since it is linked to death magic and has no self-sustain, it’s not that good of an idea to run this on anyone. The Accursed Path Now, this one isn’t marked or found without exploring the Catacombs a bit, or doing a later quest.  On this fork, take the right path, not the left one I am standing on (this is where the Blood Fanatics lead you to to “ambush” you.  You’ll know you made it when you reach a bunch of gargoyles worshipping Grenth or something. Continue down the path…      And follow the candle-lit hallway.  : Hey. New Necro here. Need Skills. Gimme. Hey, kill these guys! We haven’t done that yet, have we?   Hoo boy, did this skill see a lot of nerfs. Pretty much a pain in the rear end to face in PvP when you are a melee or ranged DPS character. Hard to interrupt and can be applied to as many as 3 characters at a time. Now, I think it is 2 characters, but it’s still bullshit.   Not the best pressure skill, but a drat annoying spike skill after Factions came out. With Factions release, there was an elite hex that reapplied itself whenever you casted a new hex on the foe. This meant that Soul Barbs would trigger TWICE FOR EACH HEX APPLIED. With five characters spamming hexes on a target, they dropped pretty fast. Took Arenanet a while to nerf it correctly.  : …Those things were just rats to you, weren’t they? : Mmm, perhaps?: rear end in a top hat… ============  Also in the area where we entered the Catacombs from Green Hills County, we meet a collector for boots. ============ Ranger Skill Quests I’ve already shown off Dan’s Skill Quest, so let’s do the last two. A Ranger’s Companion Entering Regent Valley from Ashford, we take the straight path towards our next Ranger Skill Trainer.  : I'm on an adventure!: And I’m on a quest to learn how to kill stuff faster! Y- oh, no, stop cryi- I didn’t mean it like- aw geez. If you didn’t bother to do the Devourer Egg quest, you can always get one from this collector.   : One of the great joys in a Ranger's life is earning the trust of an animal companion. If you are interested, I will give you a skill that will allow you to charm an animal. However, it would not be fitting, so close to a shrine of Melandru, to charm just any creature.: I thought Melandru loved all creatures. At least that is what Dan told me.: Along the path here you will find the shrine. Nearby you may find one of the rare cats known by the name Melandru's Stalker. If you can charm one of these animals, you will truly have Melandru's blessing.: What? I have to earn my own goddess’ blessing?! Oh c’mon, those get thrown around more than a whore in the dark! Hell, I got a blessing from Grenth when I almost let Paul die in the water!This one teaches you the basics of gaining a pet.   Charm Animal is the only skill to use when getting a pet. Once you use this on an animal that is charmable, it will turn hostile on you and you have 10 seconds to “survive”.   Comfort Animal is one of the many pet healing skills in the game. However, it can also resurrect them and now allows you to bring your pet with you (until recent updates, only Charm Animal allowed you to bring your pet with you) Following the arrow leads out towards your destination, as always.    Melandru here is the goddess of Rangers and Earth Magic. In depth later.   This is here because the developers thought that you might die from charming a pet. Yeah.  It turns aggressive, but we tame the panther soon enough.  Tamers in this game are basically “hey, you don’t want your pet anymore? Give them to me!” Useful. And then turn her in to the animal shelter and promptly replace her with…  Kevin the Strider! ================== Charming a Bear! …is a pain in the rear end in tutorial zone.   As you can see, when I attempt to charm a bear, it uses a skill called Breaking Charm, with interrupts anyone using Charm Animal on it. So, how do you get a bear as a pet?  With an ally, of course! Here’s how it works: First, you need someone to draw aggro of the bear and bring it just outside your bubble range. Every four attacks, the bear will use its attack skill Brutal Mauling(4 second activation time) and your partner will run away from it as soon as it starts casting it. When you see the bear stand on it’s hind legs, start casting Charm Animal! If you do it at the right time…  Then when the bear uses Breaking Charm, it is too far away from you for it to take effect, meaning…  You capped a bear! Feel proud because this is basically a trophy!  Note: Sometime you will cross upon a dud, meaning it is an uncappable bear. And by sometimes, I mean 99.99% It is pretty infuriating and leads to a Pokemon syndrome where you can’t capture such a hard pokemon. But instead of pokeballs and patience, you just lose the patience of two people. ===================  Over on a hill in Regent Valley, we find the last Ranger Skill Trainer, who’s gonna teach us how to shoot things better, faster, and cheaper.  Test of Marksmanship     Very good at damaging foes up-close. It reaches a whopping +30 damage at near max rank, and can be spammed pretty frequently.   NOW WE’RE COOKING. Read The Wind is an awesome preparation. In fact, it was soo good in Rangerspikes, that Arenanet took away its damage in the PvP version. Still really useful, though. : Um, you may want to wait behind that tree over there. I don’t want you to see anything you may not like…: Okay, I'll wait here. This is a time attack quest. You kill the worms that pop up downhill from Ivor. They die relatively quickly. I don’t even know how that was a test. You just tab and hit spacebar and they die. There isn’t even an obstacle in the way. But hey, Ape Hawk isn’t complaining. : Shoot to kill!: *sniff*: Okay, that’s it, you’re going back where I found you. Killjoy…=============== Minigame: The Bear Hunters Last minigame of tutorial zone (and for a while…) If you exit to Regent Valley from Fort Ranik and travel southwest, you’ll come across these people:    Trivia! Blood, Sweat, and Tears is a reference to the drinking game Bizz, Buzz, Woof. Unfortunately, wiki explains the game much easier: wiki posted:Players generally sit in a circle. The player designated to go first says the number "1", and each player thenceforth counts one number in turn. However, any number divisible by three is replaced by the word bizz and any divisible by five by the word buzz. Numbers divisible by both become bizz buzz. A player who hesitates or makes a mistake is either eliminated or must pay a forfeit, such as taking a drink. Anyway, onto the minigame:   This fine group of gentlemen are bear hunters, and drunk. Mostly drunk, but that makes you better at bear fighting, right? Anyway, they will give you a mug of beer if you can kill a black bear within three minutes. This is easily abused, since on your way there, you run into bears, so you can easily do this to acquire more booze:   : Can’t pass up easy beer!============== Next time, we finally go north of the Wall! And take a look at the history of the tutorial zone. Which one is more fun, honestly? ============== Catacombs Pictures (another place that is beautiful, but could only take a few screenshots of)          Catacombs Concept Art 
|
| # ? Aug 30, 2011 16:49 |
|
|
Alright, just to let you guys know, if anyone is interested in going North of the Wall with me to help, I'll be online on Wednesday between 10:00AM PST till 3:00PM PST. I'll be in Traditional Chinese District 1 in Ascalon City. Thanks in advance!
|
| # ? Aug 30, 2011 19:37 |
|
|
So Warrior skills are the only way to get good with melee weapons, not counting the necrotouch?
|
| # ? Aug 30, 2011 19:37 |
|
|
Glazius posted:So Warrior skills are the only way to get good with melee weapons, not counting the necrotouch? The warrior was the first class to be able to use melee skills. The later campaigns added two other professions that dealt with melee: The Assassin and the Dervish. Melee Weapon damage is affected by how much you put into their attribute.
|
| # ? Aug 30, 2011 19:45 |
|
|
Forgive my ignorance, but how do warriors stand up to those later melee additions? I expect they're the sturdiest of the lot since they, y'know, wear lots of metal, but other than that? They don't seem very flashy, not that that's any measurement of effectiveness.
|
| # ? Aug 30, 2011 20:17 |
|
|
Bobfly posted:Forgive my ignorance, but how do warriors stand up to those later melee additions? I expect they're the sturdiest of the lot since they, y'know, wear lots of metal, but other than that? They don't seem very flashy, not that that's any measurement of effectiveness. On the surface, they don't look like much, but in action, they are a menace. They are the only melee class to pump out huge damage with only 2 attack skills and no utility helping them. Assassins need a chain of 5 attack skills to actually be effective, and Dervishes need enchantments to pressure. They also have built-in armor penetration with Strength, and have the most useful knock-downs in the game. Trust me, you will see why they are the better alternative.
|
| # ? Aug 30, 2011 20:21 |
|
|
Warriors can be misleading. They are actually one of highest DPS classes in the game. It also adds to the fact that they have the best armor in the game, only one other class use the same base 80 armor, the paragon.
|
| # ? Aug 31, 2011 12:51 |
|
|
While I've never seen a Hammer Necromancer, I played a Necro/Warrior using a sword in PvE. It actually works out pretty well and you're extremely sustainable, although you end up with somewhat subpar damage. Since you were up in the frontlines with the other warriors, you could help them out by using Well of Blood every chance you got.
|
| # ? Aug 31, 2011 13:46 |
|
|
bewilderment posted:While I've never seen a Hammer Necromancer, I played a Necro/Warrior using a sword in PvE. It actually works out pretty well and you're extremely sustainable, although you end up with somewhat subpar damage. Since you were up in the frontlines with the other warriors, you could help them out by using Well of Blood every chance you got. You could also do this from the midline and do what a necromancer is supposed to do. Be bullshit.
|
| # ? Sep 2, 2011 20:48 |
|
|
The_Great_Danish posted:You could also do this from the midline and do what a necromancer is supposed to do. A necromancer is bullshit no matter where he is. I really wish I was kidding, guys. Anyway, update hopefully tonight. Also, need some builds. Remember, I am Ranger/Necromancer. Please!
|
| # ? Sep 2, 2011 21:00 |
|
|
Just start off with just a really basic spike build, since you're not quite high enough level to have the skill points to really start destroying things as a touch ranger. Well, maybe not, but it's not like anything you're fighting has armor anyway. Barbs Read the Wind Penetrating Attack Savage Shot Dual Shot Lightning Reflexes Troll Unguent Favorable Winds or Winnowing edit: this has to be limited to prophecies and core skills, right?
|
| # ? Sep 2, 2011 21:57 |
|
|
OzFactor posted:Just start off with just a really basic spike build, since you're not quite high enough level to have the skill points to really start destroying things as a touch ranger. Well, maybe not, but it's not like anything you're fighting has armor anyway. Not at all. Edit it if you wish.
|
| # ? Sep 2, 2011 22:36 |
|
|
So I caved and picked GW up again to play along with (and maybe occasionally in) the LP. Should I play Elementalist/Mesmer. Ele/Necro, or Mesmer/Necro. Or reroll Necro/War for hammertime bs.
|
| # ? Sep 3, 2011 03:41 |
|
|
Veloxyll posted:So I caved and picked GW up again to play along with (and maybe occasionally in) the LP. Should I play Elementalist/Mesmer. Ele/Necro, or Mesmer/Necro. Whatever you want, man. Again, I have no preference. GW is a game that allows for pretty much any build to be ran. It's me that has to worry about what builds you all want me to use.
|
| # ? Sep 3, 2011 03:51 |
|
|
ApeHawk posted:Whatever you want, man. Again, I have no preference. GW is a game that allows for pretty much any build to be ran. Unless your a monk, in which case everybody* yells at you for a having a bad build when things go wrong. ApeHawk posted:It's me that has to worry about what builds you all want me to use. Alright here's a gimmick ranger build for you; Enraged Lunge Maiming Strike Otyugh's Cry Feral Aggression Call of Protection Predatory Bond Call of Haste Comfort Animal Why fight when you can have your animal do all the work for you  I have no idea how effective this is but I find it amusing.*Worthless Assassins
|
| # ? Sep 3, 2011 04:42 |
|
|
Something with Marksman's Wager + Rigor Mortis + Shivers of Dread/Spinal Shivers and wielding an Icy bow with the intent of interrupting the hell out of enemy casters, perhaps? Maybe include a blindness removal of some sort in there as well.
Dartonus fucked around with this message at Sep 3, 2011 around 05:02 |
| # ? Sep 3, 2011 04:47 |
|
|
Why remove it when you can toss it at enemy warriors? You are already putting your self neck deep in curses, might as well throw Plague Sending in the mix.
|
| # ? Sep 3, 2011 06:18 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2013 12:29 |
|
|
Prophecies Episode 4: SOME loving CHARR Welcome back, all! Previously, Ape Hawk was encouraged to kill more bears with the promise of free alcohol. : *hic* Too many bears...Unfortunately, we still have some stuff to do in Ascalon before leaving for the war. =============================== But first, let’s take a look at the city: Ascalon City Stroll         ======================================  Cynn’s Theme  : Well, that’s not where all the action is at, so that is probably why people give more of a poo poo about this place than some rich citySurmia is one of the most prosperous cities of Ascalon. It was established as monument for those who died in a war. Birthplace of Cynn here. ================================= Over near the wall, we find what is probably my most favorite part about this place:  Yep. There is actually a battle happening right outside city walls. Yeah, it’s scripted, I know that, but it is still awesome. Makes you feel like there is actually a war going on. ================================== Now that the tour is done, someone has a quest for us:  Side-Quest: Charr at the Gate  : Ah, it’s you! I’ve heard much about you, young soldier. Good things, as well. I’m glad you’ve come; I am in need of your assistance! You see, I have just hear-: Oh no. Not you this time. I am sick of doing everyone’s dirty work around here.: Ah, but you see, this is a dire-: No, it’s not. You know what’s dire? My need to kill something that I was trained to kill.: That is what I am talking about. We must-: If it is so important, why wait for me? You are the prince of this kingdom, aren’t you? I understand you not wanting to give a crap about the people and making us help them for “experience”…: Now see here, I’ve been helping out as much-: Oh really? Guess what, helping your daddy figure out asinine ways to kill charr isn’t exactly what the people need, or even want. They need AND want someone who will both keep them out of danger and listen to their pleas. Your army isn’t supposed to do both, YOU ARE!: …I would speak cautiously if I were you…: Oh really? And what are you going to do, kill me? And lose a precious soldier? Yeah, go ahead, do it. I’m sure your dad would pat you on the head, tell you that you are doing such a fine job, decide to keel over and make you king, and just repeat the process over again.: …follow me.: Oh man, you are actually going to do it, aren’t you. Pfft, okay, let’s go man, you and me.Outside the Ascalon Citygates… : Sire, they are at the gate! : Who are at the gate? : What, don’t want to talk anymore?: Sire, we must make haste before they advance!: …: Sire?  : Oh man, Rik! There are charr ove- :  Prince Rurik pretty much kills them all in two hits. This quest is available to anyone who is at least level 2; that’s why the charr are dropping so fast. There are always four level 5 charr at the wall in this quest, so it is very good to level using this.   : Dude, that was amazi-: Shut up, you insufferable prick of poo poo! By Balthazar’s beard, do you act like this to everyone? Do you know how many complaints I received from the townspeople about your snide remarks? : I expect a lot, Rurik, because they rightfully deserved it. I mean, I’m a soldier, not a -: Not a what? Not a citizen? Not a servant of the people? What good is a soldier if he doesn’t understand the needs of the people that you blatantly blamed me being ignorant of? : Has it ever occurred to you that maybe we have all the new recruits help out the townspeople before war to make them know just what they are fighting for?: We are fighting to kill the charr, correct?: Stop talking like my father, imbecile! We are fighting to ensure the peace of our people! The very people you called helpless and moronic.: I’m…sorry, Rurik.: Oh, you have vanquished the privilege to call me by only my name. For now on, you will add one title to my name for each time you have insulted me and the people.: H-How many times is that, Prince Rurik?: Since you have to ask, thirteen. You get less because I heard what you did for Pitney.: Er, thank you, um, Lord…Duke…Count Demigod Guardian Master… Doctor Mister Professor Gladiator Warden Elite…Prince Rurik.: Much better. Memorize those, and you won’t have to add more. Hell, I might even let you take off some if I feel charitable.: You are dismissed.: Oh, one last thing. If you ever compare me to my father again, I will grab you by those ridiculous dreadlocks and ride you into the war myself. : Are we clear?:  As clear as my fear.================================= So, yeah. Prince Rurik. He, um. You are definitely going to see more of him. Yeah. ================================= After Ape Hawk recollected himself, he decided to go back to Prince Rurik in Ascalon City and see if he had any more missions for him. : Ah, there you are! I have an investigation for you.: What is it, Lord Duke Count Demigod Guardian Humble Master Doctor Mister Professor Gladiator Warden Elite Great Prince Rurik?: Asskissing gets you nowhere in war, lad.: I need you to find out just how that charr made his way behind our lines. We cannot have leave this unchecked.: You mean Vatlaww Doomtooth?: Yes, the one you let get away. :I didn’t!- drat you, Devona…: Your negligence is not the issue here. Carry out this duty and come see me once you figure anything out.: Yes sir, Lord Duke Count Demigod Guardian Master Doctor Mister Professor Gladiator Warden Elite Prince Rurik.: Who said you could remove my extra titles?Side-Quest: Charr in the Catacombs  Simple ‘hey, talk to these dudes to get experience’ quest. Over at Ashford Abbey: : A charr Ranger south of the Wall? Rurik is right to be worried. I have seen nothing, but perhaps Mistress Munne can offer you some assistance. She is much more familiar with the catacombs than I.: If she had something to say, why didn’t she tell you, and then you send Meerak to- You know what, you did the smart thing by letting me handle this.And then to the Catacombs... : Rurik is wise to suspect the charr of moving through the catacombs. They are fraught with much danger, but if you were familiar with them they could lead you to almost any region in Ascalon. Seek out my associate Oberan the Reviled. He makes his home deep in the catacombs and will know if any charr have ventured there.If you couldn’t find Oberan, the Necromancer Skill Trainer, this is the quest that leads you straight to him. : You come here seeking charr? You were wise to seek out Oberan, for no creature, be they living or dead, moves through here without my knowledge. This charr that you seek comes often to the underground, but he does not make his lair here. The spirits of this place would not tolerate him should he seek to take up residence. If you require proof of his presence, take this...it's a token he left behind during one of his encounters with the denizens of this place. Now then, leave me to my studies. Return to the world of light.: …: Okay, three things:: One, if you saw a charr around here, why not act on it and seek out to kill him before he tells every other charr about this amazing entrance?: Two, again, if you saw him, but this time you couldn’t even touch him, why stay here and twiddle your thumbs instead of telling us about an intruder getting past the wall? I mean, it’s a five minute walk for you to go to the Duke’s and say, “hey, I saw a charr in the catacombs, might want to send some help or let the army know.”: And three, why are you acting so nonchalant about this issue? The charr are a HUGE threat, and you are acting like this is nothing? Why?: Because as you said, us Necromancers, us deciders of darkness and nuisances to nature…: are “assholes.”: …fair enough, rear end in a top hat.----------------------- Back at Ascalon ----------------------- : Lord Duke Count Demigod Guardian Humble Master Doctor Mister Professor Gladiator Warden Elite Great Prince Rurik, I have news!: Yes?: It appears that the charr invader was using the catacombs as a means to access our homeland from underground. Here’s his tooth. : This is proof enough. You have served Ascalon well this day. I will mobilize the troops and search for this beast.: Also, you may remove one of my titles from my name.: Thank you, Lord Duke Count Demigod Guardian Humble Master Doctor Mister Professor Gladiator Elite Great Prince Rurik.: Oh, one more thing- If you would really like to go and kill some charr, then speak to the guard at the wall gate. : You, you mean it?: All the people are helped. You have served us well. Now you may enjoy your bloodlust.: Th-thank you!: Who says I don’t give the people what they want…Yep, it’s the part you’ve all been probably maybe waiting for: going North of the wall. If you guys chose the wolf as the pet, I would’ve been able to make so many references to Game of Thrones. I don’t know if I should thank you or hate you. Eh. Anyway, going past the gate requires two people, which is convenient because that is the limit of our party size. But, before we rush off to the wall… =========================================== Side-Quest: Adventure with an Ally   : With all the dangers out on Lakeside, I can't believe the number of people who go running around by themselves.: What dangers? All I see are fish and- okay, I’ve already made this observation enough times…: Oh, you have a friend with you! Would you like a skill to resurrect them when they die?: Um, sure. I guess that will come in handy…  Resurrection Signet is pretty much a staple on any team build. It can be used by every profession, and is quick and efficient enough to ensure a great rez for your teammate. The downside is that it won’t recharge until you get a Morale Boost. Morale Boosts increase your overall health and energy by 1% for each point. It maxes out at +10%. Short version: Grab someone from an active district, go outside, talk to her, and get Resurrection Signet. ================================== After helping our monk… give us free stuff, we head on towards the wall to KILL SOME loving CHARR. Side-Quest: Across the Wall    But first, we have to help save this guy’s buddy who is trapped by SOME loving CHARR.  This is the reason why you need two people: There is a lever at the top that opens the gate, and the gate is on a timer that ends before your character can make it to the gate. There is also no speedboost skills available at this point. One person opens the level, the other walks through. We step out of the gate and…  : Hey, what the gently caress?! Did you guys seriously let four charr past the gate???: They killed us! And then we resurrected. And then they killed us again! And again! And again!: Uh, poo poo. Sorry. I’ll tell them to send more soldiers to defend the gate.: And again!: Bye… So, this is the north of the wall. Filled with ruins and hostility. Bunched of toppled buildings and even some statues.              Yeah, those might come up later. The Charr All of the charr in the area travel in packs of 3-4, all scripted. They are pretty scattered around the place, but always in the same spots. This is also the first real time you have to think about who to focus first. The general killing order for taking out are: Monks, Warriors (Frenzy spammers die easily, and they have DPS), Rangers (DPS), Mesmers (minor threat), and Necros (Only have degen, which is manageable)     Wild Blow is more of a utility skill rather than a damage skill. Yes, it crits, but crits aren’t that hard to come by. Before the other campaigns, this was the first stance-removal in the game. However, there weren’t exactly a lot of stances that were popular enough to be removed in order to get kills, so it wasn’t ran as often.     Penetrating Shot also has a duplicate skill in Factions: Sundering Attack. Used in a popular Ranger DPS template in PvP called “turret ranger,” basically allowing the Ranger to spam both on a target for huge damage. Was nerfed pretty soundly.     Infuse Health is a staple in Healing Monk builds in PvP. One of the best spike-catching skills in the game, you can save allies from near-death with this skill. Requires great timing because spikes are generally fast and you cannot pre-infuse someone to save them.   Heal Area is a niche heal spell. It heals EVERYONE, including your enemies, but the range is very small. Not worth it in top-level GvG, but useful in certain builds where you ball up together. This also has a duplicate skill in Factions.     Shatter Enchantment is another great skill. Even before the buff to its energy cost and recharge time, it was powerful. Takes an enchantment off and deals a huge amount of armor-ignoring damage. Great in almost any format.   Shatter Hex is another story altogether. Yes, there are anti-melee hexes in the game, but Monks already bring hex removal in PvP, so there is really no need for Mesmers to bring this skill unless it is really necessary (even then, there are better alternatives for Mesmers)   Energy Burn is a great edenial skill. The amount of energy it takes from the target determines the amount of damage it deals. Great for e-denial and damage.     Mark of Pain. You’d think it would be useful in PvP. It’s not. Still bullshit. Great in PvE, however. It does not have a limit to how many times it gets activated, so you can deal great amounts of AoE damage to clusters of enemies with not a worry. : Alright, now to find that Ben fella. Again, follow green arrow.  We find Ben Wolfson trapped by SOME loving CHARR, whom we have to kill to ensure that he makes it back to the gate.    Once he is saved, you escort him back to the gate.  After Ben walks back through the gate, we can finally kill SOME loving CHARR. Again. Just follow the killing-priority guide and you will be fine. Just beware of the charr Rangers spamming Penetrating Shot.   By the way, it’s easy for low level people to die here; the enemies here scale from level 3 to 10.  Once taking out the two patrols here, we follow the path, which makes the scene change rather dramatically.   Yep, red skies and fast clouds. Somethin’ is a brewin’.  : What the hell is that? It looks like some kind of altar…Yeah, now we know that SOME loving CHARR are definitely cooking something up. This is not their tactic. Their usual tactic is to, well, blunt force their wins. The altar is loaded with SOME loving CHARR patrolling and guarding it. It also has 4 bosses that we are introduced to: Bosses in Northlands       Mantra of Flame is one of the defensive stances that Mesmers have. This one reduces damage from fire and gives you energy back when you get hit by fire damage. Handy when you know that you will be facing copious amounts for fire.   Illusion of Haste is the speed boost skill for Mesmers. Nice and useful skill that also removes Crippling from you when you cast it (and reapplies it once it ends).     Conjure Flame is an enchantment that, if you are wielding a weapon that deals fire damage, grants it additional damage on each attack. Note that this is armor-ignoring damage it adds, not elemental. Used to be in separate packets until Arenanet noticed that it was taking priority with certain enchantments.   Lava Font… there are much better PBAoE spells in the game. Nice for sustained PBAoE damage, but that’s it. Not even touched in PvP. Bosses in this game are distinguished by their auras. Elementalists are Red, Mesmers are Purple, Monks are Blue, Necros are bullshit Green, Warriors are Orange, Rangers are a different tint of Green that is not as bullshit as Necros. Killing a boss nets you +2% Morale Boost, which recharges your Resurrection Signets.  Which is useful in this part and on.   The strategy to take out the charr on the altar is to kill the patrols first, then the Warrior guards, and then focus the Elementalist Boss, followed by the rest of the bosses. The charr bosses in the tutorial zone are capable of dropping these two items:  Charr Bag Allows you to extend your backpack capacity size by 10. Max of two allowed to put on.  Charr Salvage Kit Acts as an upgraded version of the salvage kit. Better salvage chances.  Once they are done, we get to explore a bit more and kill SOME loving CHARR (last time, I promise). : Bring it on, war. I’m ready to declaw some more pussies.  This is the place that we saw the charr fighting the Ascalonians. They are not there anymore. I was disappointed when I found this out… And that’s it. All the charr we could possibly kill in the area are dead. The altar-thing is destroyed, and Ape Hawk’s killing finger is exhausted. Now, we simply head back to Ascalon to prepare for the war. But first… ============================================   : Aye, that I am.: And that rear end…mm-mm…: What was that?: Er,and what of the blessed event? Have you set a date?: No, but I’ve got a more pressing problem, believe it or not.: She is turning all bridezilla on you, isn’t she, sir?: Yes, but it’s not that. It’s Althea’s birthday tomorrow, and I haven’t a gift for her. I’ve searched the shops, the treasure room…: I need something utterly unique and breathtaking. Like Althea.: wink wink: *sigh* Don’t give it another thought, Your Highness. Leave it to me.: You’ve served me well in trying times, Osric, and for that you have my respect.: And my word I will find someone else to polish our armor.: If you can do this thing for me, you’ll have my undying gratitude, as well.[/I]Prince Rurik leaves… Side-Quest: A Gift for Althea   Okay, there are actually two different ways we can get the reward for this quest, which is pretty neat. As you can see, I already found all of the items for the quest:  The pearl is found inside the shell near the windmill over in Ashford.  The feather is found at the Strider pen in Ashford.  And the amulet is found in a chest by the bandit camp near Ashford. Now, we can either give the items to Osric, or Lady Althea. We get the same rewards either way. : Hmm…I can’t choose, you guys do it. Do we give them to Osric or Althea? ======================== Next time, we go to WAR! ========================
|
| # ? Sep 3, 2011 06:52 |
|
