The Amazing Krandor · Jul 19, 2005, 04:01 AM // 04:01

So. I got my Necro/monk up to 20th level, and he's now at Aurora Glade. I know what the mission and bonus are, but doing them is rather problematic, for a couple reasons.

First: there's the henchmen AI. Yeah, I know - everyone knows the lot of them are psychotic. I know it too, but they're just so gosh darn loveable (and far less argumentative than the average human player), so I usually adventure with them. But really! I'm a necromancer, not a warrior. That means, on occassion, I will fall back to distance myself from the melee. And all too often, when I do, the entire darn party follows me! Stefan and Thom, bless their stupid little hearts, seem to invariably take my strategic withdrawal as a signal for a full-on retreat! So, they break off their attack, just to stand by my side. Yeah, I like you too, guys, but really. There's a fight going on here. There are people trying to kill us. Focus!

Second: I'm a necromancer. That means I don't have much in the way of spike damage, nor do I have anything to hobble the runners in this mission (my Monk side doesn't have much to contribute to either aspect, either). I can lay some significant DoT on the would-be-attuner runner, but if I try to make sure he's dead by taking a step or two after him, the rest of the party does their Sir Robin imitation, as mentioned above. Once that happens, the White Mantle advance on us, and in general makes it easier for the next runner to get through. It also makes it easier for the White Mantle to make the entire party dead. And that's just no way to complete a mission. Also, as the fight goes on, I have less energy available, so the amount of DoT I can stack in a given time decreases as well, again making it easier for the runner to make the attunement run (it doesn't matter, after all, if he plants the crystal with his dying breath).

Am I destined to bite the proverbial bullet and join a human group in order to complete this mission (ha! like anyone wants a necromancer cluttering up their party!), or can it actually be done despite the stupidity of Stefan, Thom, Alesia, Claude, Reyna, Durham and/or Orion (and despite my choice of professions)?

Malchiel · Jul 19, 2005, 04:03 AM // 04:03

that mission is one of the hardest. For that particular one you probably need a group with IQ better than henchmen.

Aetherfukz · Jul 19, 2005, 04:28 AM // 04:28

I tried the mission with only henchies with my Me/R and well... I did not lose. I gave up after like 15 minutes trying to attune the 2 (or do you need 3) hench portals. The problem was that whenever I was trying to run for a portal, the white mantle runner would be just at the opposite portal attuning it.

So you need at least 2 real people to do the mission, 1 runs for the first portal, while the other waits to get the attune thingy as soon as it appears and then makes for the next portal.

CleverAlias · Jul 19, 2005, 04:28 AM // 04:28

I completed it with henchmen, the key is attuning two of the things. Then just camp one and you can do it rather easily, as the white mantle tend to trickle in. Just focus the one carrying the crystal, and if he caps it, just re cap it asap.

bioxeed · Jul 19, 2005, 04:33 AM // 04:33

I've done it (and the bonus) with me + a guildy (psycore) and NO henchmen. Both of us were lvl20 necros. psyc was using a minion master build (n/mo) and I had a blood/curses build. He actually managed to cap the 3 crystals ALONE while I snuck behind to kill the demogogue for the bonus.

Saya · Jul 19, 2005, 05:03 AM // 05:03

As CleverAlias mentioned, the key to this mission is to attune the left & right portals non stop.
After a few minutes, you will be able to attune the middle one and get ported to the end fight.

Just make sure to keep on running all the time and not to attune the middle portal until it's clearly the last one left to do, because otherwise you will have to fight.

It just takes a while, but is definately doable with henchies only without a problem.

Eclair · Jul 19, 2005, 05:55 AM // 05:55

The best way to do it with henchies is to attune 2 of them and wait for the white mantle to come for the one you haven't attuned. Keep on killing the white mantle until they have no more runners left. Now you can go kill the boss for the bonus and complete the mission^^

Auntie I · Jul 19, 2005, 11:03 AM // 11:03

The first time I did this mission with my E/Me I did slightly differently than mentioned already. I didn't bother with the bonus. First I attuned the far right pedestal, then the middle one. I did the left hand side one next and then went back and attuned the right hand one again. I never saw a single White Mantle the whole time. The White Mantle will go for the right hand side one when you attune it, this takes so long you have time to attune the other 2 and get back to the right hand side one before they can get back to attune the middle one.
The trick is to know their pattern. They will attune the left one first and after that they will attune them in the same order you do. By doing the right hand one and then the middle you give them the longer run and you have time to get the right hand one back before they get to the middle. If you do Right then Left they have time to get to the Left hand pedestal before you get back to the right hand one. So Right, Middle, Left and then Right for the win!

Numa Pompilius · Jul 19, 2005, 11:23 AM // 11:23

People say it can be done with henches, but that was the one mission in the game where I actually HAD to group with humans to finish it.
I haven't tried it in a while, though, perhaps I should now when I've got some more tricks up my sleeve and am higher level; would be neat to be able to say I'd done all missions with henches.

Mitsu Bishi · Jul 19, 2005, 11:41 AM // 11:41

Without slowdown skills, I'd say it can get very tricky. Maybe you could go mass minions to bodyblock their runner and kill him with the sheer numbers. For an easy time with henchmen, a slowdown (or at least knockdown) skill is pretty much essential.

Mithie · Jul 19, 2005, 11:58 AM // 11:58

You can do all the missions up to Amnoon Oasis with henchies, as I've done for two characters. With henchies, just remember: they will swarm the target you designate by attacking. Most of the time it just becomes a melee range endurace contest where alesia pits her skills against the enemy hp pool, so keep her alive and your henchies should outdamage the opposition, assuming you didnt' aggro more than one mob. Aurora is no different.

wasteland · Jul 19, 2005, 12:53 PM // 12:53

After completing all the missions normally I decided, a challenge, to create a character and try to finaish all the missions with only henchman (I've reached the First ring of fire mission so far), and Aurora Glade can certainly, at least with an Me/sMo, be done with Henchmen. My tactic was to keep running and do the nearest portal, then the one to the left, followed by the far one and then pick up whichever one was now red. I also made sure that I didn't engage the Mantle at any point.

asdar · Jul 19, 2005, 02:04 PM // 14:04

It won't be easy with a necro/monk. Any other combo and I'd say you could do it.

If you're talking about the crystal run for the three pedestals what I do is hold the left one. Without a slow, knockdown, sprint or real spike I'm not sure how you'd do it though.

If you pick up a crystal and move toward the left pedestal and wait 'til they clear and then put yours in you'll have one and a bit of breathing room.

I think your best bet is to then move foward on the attack.

Get them right at the entry where there all bunched up. I'd give a try to having balthazars, zealots, and putrid explosion. Send in the warriors, dump balthazars on Thom and heal with zealots 5 point heals fast. That'll body block the crystal bearer but you still have to target him fast and get your best dots on him. There should be plenty of bodies there, you might want to putrid explode them or do a blood pool.

If you get a large number of them and the crystal bearer gets by run back to your crystal dispenser and get one quickly and try to get back to the left pedestal. If you're stuck defending the middle I don't think you can do it. You need that one for a last stand position.

They seem to have added a lot of mesmers, to that mission which makes it more difficult.

edit: take Claude, many times he'll do a blood ritual and give you some bonus power.
Good luck

Epinephrine · Jul 19, 2005, 02:26 PM // 14:26

Take Dunham - he at least has a nice snare.

Necro Monk don't have a cripple/slow which is a bit limiting - you really want to be able to kill the runners. And defending a pedestal is about the best way with henchies - anything much more complex gets lost on them, but they do alright with "kill that guy" as the command. The white mantle can be tough, but they do tend to clump up a bit, so you can use Mark of Pain for example to cut through their armour. Definitely not a trivial mission to do by yourself. I find Elona's, Thirsty and Dunes to be cakewalks with henchies compared to Aurora with henchies.

Jijimuge · Jul 19, 2005, 06:39 PM // 18:39

I've done it with my necro/monk quite easily. I just attuned the nearest pedestal, then kept on doing the attune/reattune switch with the White Mantle about 3 times for that one, then they switched to the right one and repeated and hey presto.

I hardly fought the Mantle there at all - I just avoided the fights. In my opinion, unless you're going for the bonus, you don't have the time to start killing off the Mantle, so just avoid them as fighting will be too time-consuming.

Unfortunately I'm a bit vague on the details, but that's because I didn't find it at all difficult. I think one has a slight time advantage over the mantle, and as long as one uses that to one's advantage, all is well.

Another useful trick is that if the 2 far pedestals are currently not attuned to you, move to the central pad before heading for the pedestal of your choice, as it give you more time to counteract the Mantle's plans.

If you see them running up to attune a pedestal that you're quite near, let them waste their crystal on it, then attune it after they've left - that'll maximise your efficiency.

I tried the same tactic with my warrior/necro too, and at the time I hadn't bothered to equip sprint or hamstring or the like, so that character was in pretty much the same situation as my necro/monk.

samarium · Jul 19, 2005, 07:24 PM // 19:24

There's an interesting AI glitch here that might prove helpful.

While re-doing this mission for the bonus and trying to kill the Demagogue, I noticed that the White Mantle will not attack you while they're returning to base after a run. If you hit them, their AI tells them to stand still and not fight back.

But going mass minions works too - the crystal carrier is a pushover. He'll just stop running and stand still and take a beating if he runs into your wall of death.

-sam

The Amazing Krandor · Jul 19, 2005, 07:31 PM // 19:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jijimuge

In my opinion, unless you're going for the bonus, you don't have the time to start killing off the Mantle, so just avoid them as fighting will be too time-consuming.

An added complication is that I do want to do the bonus. Which, of course, means having to fight the Mantle.

I normally do run in minion mode, which I suppose I could do for this mission, as well. The only problem is that at the beginning of the big fight, I likely won't have any minions, so I'll have to build them up from the Mantle as we kill them. Or, I could use the ensuing corpses for Putrid Explosion, which I think may be a better choice just because it adds some spike damage, and minions don't seem to have the same AI as the henchmen do (i.e., they don't always attack my target).

I tend not to do much with my Monk side, largely because I have a Cesta and focus, one of which requires a high Blood Magic, the other requires a high Death Magic, and the rest of my points tend to be tied up in Soul Reaping. So jacking up Monk attributes will decrease my Necro-effectiveness in more ways than one (a dramatic loss of energy being one of them).

WickedMirrror · Jul 19, 2005, 08:48 PM // 20:48

Easiest way to do this with hench men:

Walk around it all togeather

With my latest charc. W/mo I ended up walking form Druids Overlook to Quarrel Falls to Ventans refuge to Maguuma Stade then on to Henge of Dentavi.

I went to The wilds, Bloodstone Fen and Aurora Glade, just didnt do the missions and save alot of time and headache (find playing in pubs gives me headaches)

Maxiemonster · Jul 19, 2005, 10:56 PM // 22:56

I did it with my Monk, it's quite hard though, but it's possible. Just like Thunderhead Keep, it took me several times to complete it.

JPong · Jul 19, 2005, 11:26 PM // 23:26

I did this with my N/E fairly easily without any E side. All you have to do is defend the middle path as the runner comes over it start with Shadow Strike then use whatever. Though this was my vamp build that recently changed to nuking as it is much easier to get a party. But yeah just stand in the middle of that path and wait for the carrier and get the viscious Thom and Stefan after him. Once he is dead kill any other white mantle in the area. Another thing to make sure you have energy is invest highly in soul reaping. My best friend.

Jul 19, 2005, 04:01 AM // 04:01	#1
The Amazing Krandor Academy Page Join Date: Jul 2005 Profession: Me/N	Aurora Glade: can it be done with henchmen only? So. I got my Necro/monk up to 20th level, and he's now at Aurora Glade. I know what the mission and bonus are, but doing them is rather problematic, for a couple reasons. First: there's the henchmen AI. Yeah, I know - everyone knows the lot of them are psychotic. I know it too, but they're just so gosh darn loveable (and far less argumentative than the average human player), so I usually adventure with them. But really! I'm a necromancer, not a warrior. That means, on occassion, I will fall back to distance myself from the melee. And all too often, when I do, the entire darn party follows me! Stefan and Thom, bless their stupid little hearts, seem to invariably take my strategic withdrawal as a signal for a full-on retreat! So, they break off their attack, just to stand by my side. Yeah, I like you too, guys, but really. There's a fight going on here. There are people trying to kill us. Focus! Second: I'm a necromancer. That means I don't have much in the way of spike damage, nor do I have anything to hobble the runners in this mission (my Monk side doesn't have much to contribute to either aspect, either). I can lay some significant DoT on the would-be-attuner runner, but if I try to make sure he's dead by taking a step or two after him, the rest of the party does their Sir Robin imitation, as mentioned above. Once that happens, the White Mantle advance on us, and in general makes it easier for the next runner to get through. It also makes it easier for the White Mantle to make the entire party dead. And that's just no way to complete a mission. Also, as the fight goes on, I have less energy available, so the amount of DoT I can stack in a given time decreases as well, again making it easier for the runner to make the attunement run (it doesn't matter, after all, if he plants the crystal with his dying breath). Am I destined to bite the proverbial bullet and join a human group in order to complete this mission (ha! like anyone wants a necromancer cluttering up their party!), or can it actually be done despite the stupidity of Stefan, Thom, Alesia, Claude, Reyna, Durham and/or Orion (and despite my choice of professions)?

Jul 19, 2005, 02:04 PM // 14:04	#13
asdar Krytan Explorer Join Date: May 2005	It won't be easy with a necro/monk. Any other combo and I'd say you could do it. If you're talking about the crystal run for the three pedestals what I do is hold the left one. Without a slow, knockdown, sprint or real spike I'm not sure how you'd do it though. If you pick up a crystal and move toward the left pedestal and wait 'til they clear and then put yours in you'll have one and a bit of breathing room. I think your best bet is to then move foward on the attack. Get them right at the entry where there all bunched up. I'd give a try to having balthazars, zealots, and putrid explosion. Send in the warriors, dump balthazars on Thom and heal with zealots 5 point heals fast. That'll body block the crystal bearer but you still have to target him fast and get your best dots on him. There should be plenty of bodies there, you might want to putrid explode them or do a blood pool. If you get a large number of them and the crystal bearer gets by run back to your crystal dispenser and get one quickly and try to get back to the left pedestal. If you're stuck defending the middle I don't think you can do it. You need that one for a last stand position. They seem to have added a lot of mesmers, to that mission which makes it more difficult. edit: take Claude, many times he'll do a blood ritual and give you some bonus power. Good luck Last edited by asdar; Jul 19, 2005 at 02:07 PM // 14:07..

Jul 19, 2005, 04:03 AM // 04:03	#2
Malchiel Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: May 2005	that mission is one of the hardest. For that particular one you probably need a group with IQ better than henchmen.

Jul 19, 2005, 04:28 AM // 04:28	#3
Aetherfukz Academy Page Join Date: May 2005 Location: My own private hell Guild: none Profession: E/Mo	I tried the mission with only henchies with my Me/R and well... I did not lose. I gave up after like 15 minutes trying to attune the 2 (or do you need 3) hench portals. The problem was that whenever I was trying to run for a portal, the white mantle runner would be just at the opposite portal attuning it. So you need at least 2 real people to do the mission, 1 runs for the first portal, while the other waits to get the attune thingy as soon as it appears and then makes for the next portal.

Jul 19, 2005, 04:28 AM // 04:28	#4
CleverAlias Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2005	I completed it with henchmen, the key is attuning two of the things. Then just camp one and you can do it rather easily, as the white mantle tend to trickle in. Just focus the one carrying the crystal, and if he caps it, just re cap it asap.

Jul 19, 2005, 04:33 AM // 04:33	#5
bioxeed Academy Page Join Date: Jun 2005 Guild: Circle of Nine Profession: N/W	I've done it (and the bonus) with me + a guildy (psycore) and NO henchmen. Both of us were lvl20 necros. psyc was using a minion master build (n/mo) and I had a blood/curses build. He actually managed to cap the 3 crystals ALONE while I snuck behind to kill the demogogue for the bonus.

Jul 19, 2005, 05:03 AM // 05:03	#6
Saya Academy Page Join Date: Apr 2005	As CleverAlias mentioned, the key to this mission is to attune the left & right portals non stop. After a few minutes, you will be able to attune the middle one and get ported to the end fight. Just make sure to keep on running all the time and not to attune the middle portal until it's clearly the last one left to do, because otherwise you will have to fight. It just takes a while, but is definately doable with henchies only without a problem.

Jul 19, 2005, 05:55 AM // 05:55	#7
Eclair Desert Nomad Join Date: Apr 2005	The best way to do it with henchies is to attune 2 of them and wait for the white mantle to come for the one you haven't attuned. Keep on killing the white mantle until they have no more runners left. Now you can go kill the boss for the bonus and complete the mission^^

Jul 19, 2005, 11:03 AM // 11:03	#8
Auntie I Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Apr 2005 Guild: Veritas Invictus Profession: E/Me	The first time I did this mission with my E/Me I did slightly differently than mentioned already. I didn't bother with the bonus. First I attuned the far right pedestal, then the middle one. I did the left hand side one next and then went back and attuned the right hand one again. I never saw a single White Mantle the whole time. The White Mantle will go for the right hand side one when you attune it, this takes so long you have time to attune the other 2 and get back to the right hand side one before they can get back to attune the middle one. The trick is to know their pattern. They will attune the left one first and after that they will attune them in the same order you do. By doing the right hand one and then the middle you give them the longer run and you have time to get the right hand one back before they get to the middle. If you do Right then Left they have time to get to the Left hand pedestal before you get back to the right hand one. So Right, Middle, Left and then Right for the win!

Jul 19, 2005, 11:23 AM // 11:23	#9
Numa Pompilius Grotto Attendant Join Date: May 2005 Location: At an Insit.. Intis... a house. Guild: Live Forever Or Die Trying [GLHF] Profession: W/Me	People say it can be done with henches, but that was the one mission in the game where I actually HAD to group with humans to finish it. I haven't tried it in a while, though, perhaps I should now when I've got some more tricks up my sleeve and am higher level; would be neat to be able to say I'd done all missions with henches.

Jul 19, 2005, 11:41 AM // 11:41	#10
Mitsu Bishi Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Austria Guild: Need for Seed [SeeD] Profession: Mo/Me	Without slowdown skills, I'd say it can get very tricky. Maybe you could go mass minions to bodyblock their runner and kill him with the sheer numbers. For an easy time with henchmen, a slowdown (or at least knockdown) skill is pretty much essential.

Jul 19, 2005, 11:58 AM // 11:58	#11
Mithie Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jul 2005 Guild: Rest En Pieces [RIP] Profession: Me/W	You can do all the missions up to Amnoon Oasis with henchies, as I've done for two characters. With henchies, just remember: they will swarm the target you designate by attacking. Most of the time it just becomes a melee range endurace contest where alesia pits her skills against the enemy hp pool, so keep her alive and your henchies should outdamage the opposition, assuming you didnt' aggro more than one mob. Aurora is no different.

Jul 19, 2005, 12:53 PM // 12:53	#12
wasteland Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Apr 2005 Profession: Me/Mo	After completing all the missions normally I decided, a challenge, to create a character and try to finaish all the missions with only henchman (I've reached the First ring of fire mission so far), and Aurora Glade can certainly, at least with an Me/sMo, be done with Henchmen. My tactic was to keep running and do the nearest portal, then the one to the left, followed by the far one and then pick up whichever one was now red. I also made sure that I didn't engage the Mantle at any point.

Jul 19, 2005, 02:26 PM // 14:26	#14
Epinephrine Master of Beasts Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ottawa, Canada Guild: Servants of Fortuna [SoF]	Take Dunham - he at least has a nice snare. Necro Monk don't have a cripple/slow which is a bit limiting - you really want to be able to kill the runners. And defending a pedestal is about the best way with henchies - anything much more complex gets lost on them, but they do alright with "kill that guy" as the command. The white mantle can be tough, but they do tend to clump up a bit, so you can use Mark of Pain for example to cut through their armour. Definitely not a trivial mission to do by yourself. I find Elona's, Thirsty and Dunes to be cakewalks with henchies compared to Aurora with henchies.

Jul 19, 2005, 06:39 PM // 18:39	#15
Jijimuge Academy Page Join Date: May 2005	I've done it with my necro/monk quite easily. I just attuned the nearest pedestal, then kept on doing the attune/reattune switch with the White Mantle about 3 times for that one, then they switched to the right one and repeated and hey presto. I hardly fought the Mantle there at all - I just avoided the fights. In my opinion, unless you're going for the bonus, you don't have the time to start killing off the Mantle, so just avoid them as fighting will be too time-consuming. Unfortunately I'm a bit vague on the details, but that's because I didn't find it at all difficult. I think one has a slight time advantage over the mantle, and as long as one uses that to one's advantage, all is well. Another useful trick is that if the 2 far pedestals are currently not attuned to you, move to the central pad before heading for the pedestal of your choice, as it give you more time to counteract the Mantle's plans. If you see them running up to attune a pedestal that you're quite near, let them waste their crystal on it, then attune it after they've left - that'll maximise your efficiency. I tried the same tactic with my warrior/necro too, and at the time I hadn't bothered to equip sprint or hamstring or the like, so that character was in pretty much the same situation as my necro/monk.

Jul 19, 2005, 07:24 PM // 19:24	#16
samarium Academy Page Join Date: Jul 2005 Guild: Pillers of Darkness [Dark] Profession: N/Mo	There's an interesting AI glitch here that might prove helpful. While re-doing this mission for the bonus and trying to kill the Demagogue, I noticed that the White Mantle will not attack you while they're returning to base after a run. If you hit them, their AI tells them to stand still and not fight back. But going mass minions works too - the crystal carrier is a pushover. He'll just stop running and stand still and take a beating if he runs into your wall of death. -sam

Jul 19, 2005, 08:48 PM // 20:48	#18
WickedMirrror Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2005	Easiest way to do this with hench men: Walk around it all togeather With my latest charc. W/mo I ended up walking form Druids Overlook to Quarrel Falls to Ventans refuge to Maguuma Stade then on to Henge of Dentavi. I went to The wilds, Bloodstone Fen and Aurora Glade, just didnt do the missions and save alot of time and headache (find playing in pubs gives me headaches)

Jul 19, 2005, 10:56 PM // 22:56	#19
Maxiemonster There is no spoon. Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Netherlands Profession: Mo/	I did it with my Monk, it's quite hard though, but it's possible. Just like Thunderhead Keep, it took me several times to complete it.

Jul 19, 2005, 11:26 PM // 23:26	#20
JPong Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Canada Guild: Death Pod Profession: Mo/Me	I did this with my N/E fairly easily without any E side. All you have to do is defend the middle path as the runner comes over it start with Shadow Strike then use whatever. Though this was my vamp build that recently changed to nuking as it is much easier to get a party. But yeah just stand in the middle of that path and wait for the carrier and get the viscious Thom and Stefan after him. Once he is dead kill any other white mantle in the area. Another thing to make sure you have energy is invest highly in soul reaping. My best friend.