Whats new this update:
1) Simplified Arachnicide tactics so a wider range of players would be able to complete the run
2) Added new battle and evasion tactics
3) Added how to kill Ancient Skales
4) Numerous minor fixes
:: :: PART ONE - Preperation
:: Introduction
This guide will tell you how to solo farm as a Warrior in the Fissure Of Woe (FOW). In order to gain access to the Fissure you must be Ascended. If you dont know what that means, keep playing the game, this guide isnt for you! (at least not yet)
The Fissure of Woe is a high risk, high reward area. It requires your Realm (server, continent, whatever) have the Favor of the Gods, and you pay a 1,000 gold entry fee (in addition to being Ascended). If you die, you do not respawn, you are simply kicked out.
Kneel before the shrine to Balthazar, and pay tribute, then you will enter the Fissure of Woe.
:: Warning
This is not an easy run. It is likely you will fail the first couple of times you try, and it is feasible that many of the people who read this will never get the hang of it! Its far from impossible, but it is certainly an acquired taste. My runs now take 1/3 as long as they used to, simply because I now know what to do.
:: Ideal Equipment
Superior Absorption is far more effective in this run then Superior Vigor is. While Superior Vigor provides you with 9 more hp then Major Vigor, Superior Absorption reduces one additional damage (per attack). This quickly adds up. I personally use Superior Vigor and Absorption, and have no idea how big of an effect using Major (or even Minor!) runes will have. You are free to try it, but Superior is of course recommended.
The only Elemental damage you will be taking is meager at best, so Gladiator's Armor stands out as an ideal choice. Also, it is a very good idea to have one piece of Armor that has an innate 'reduces damage from attacks' mod. Only one is neccessary for the full effect. It is most adventageous to put it on your Feet, Hands, or Head as these spots are least likely to be hit. Feet is ideal, as the Head slot gets juggled alot for various reasons, and if you ever decide to use Hammers you will surely also be using Stonefist Gauntlets.
Be sure to bring along a Lieutenant's Helm (craftable in the Henge of Denravi) for those times when you have to aggro Skales. Even post nerf, it is worth it, as it is better then nothing.
:: Armorment
First and foremost, be sure you have a Flatbow/Longbow for pulling. There are times when this is simply invaluable, as it can salvage an impossible spawn into something easily doable. I used to not bring one, but now I always have a Flatbow in my inventory. Damage and mods dont matter, youll only be using it for one shot.
You can use either Swords or Axes for this. I personally use Swords because I happened to have a Sword perfect for it when I picked this up, and have never bothered changing, as its always done the trick.
In either case your ideal weapon will be a Zealous (+1/-1 is max) weapon of Shelter (+7 AL vs Physical damage is max).
While not as good as Shelter in this case, a weapon Of Defense (+5 AL is max) will do.
Depending on your build, Vampiric may do more damage, however the -1 degen can come into play at a bad time, and since this run can be stressful enough as is, I suggest you skip on Vampiric, and take Zealous (or perhaps Furious, depending on your build) instead.
Hammers are capable of doing this run as well, however it is easiest with Sword or Axe. Hammers are not suggested, as Shields provide a huge advantage.
As for your shield, a simple collectors shield with +45/-2 stance will do. If you are using two or three superior runes, as I often do, the bonus health can give you a significantly wider window. This not only keeps you from dying from sheer damage quickly, but gives you longer before Armored Cave Spiders start interupting Healing Signet.
In theory, it is most ideal to have a shield with dual damage reduction, like -2 stance -2 enchant, or -2 stance -5 hex. The problem with this is that using a shield while enchanted limits your options on a secondary class, and makes you vulnerable against Doubter's Dryders, who use Shatter Enchantment. Also, if you rely on being hexed, that means you are facing Doubter's Dryders' deadly Wastrel's Worry.
However, for reasons I will outline later, you might want to get a -2/-2 shield (common abreviation of -2 stance -2 enchant) in addition to a Stance collectors shield. I personally bring both, and recommend both. -2/-2 shields are surprisingly cheap, especially if they are high req. A guildie recently got a -2/-2 Eternal for 5k. Not bad for a shield that outperforms green's in many scenarios!
I recommend using a customized weapon with bonus damage while in a stance. Bonus damage while health is over 50% is also okay, but bear in mind you will be dipping below 50% often.
:: Enemies
Just so you know what youll be getting yourself into - here are the enemies you will be encountering.
Snarling Driftwood - Warrior - Warrior's Cunning, Hamstring, Protectors Strike, Victory Is Mine {E}
Notes: Their damage is pathetic (unless they get you with Protectors Strike), and they dont deal enough conditions for Victory Is Mine to be truly effective. The most dangerous thing about them is getting Crippled while a Skale aggro's you.
Doubter's Dryder - Mesmer - Shatter Enchantment, Drain Enchantment, Guilt, Shame, Wastrel's Worry
Notes: Just incase you thought that spell casting would be a good idea... its not.
Ancient Skale - Necro - Rend Enchantments, Life Transfer, Life Siphon {E}, Grenth's Balance {E}
Notes: Ancient Skale are avoidable, and very nasty. They are killable, but dont expect it to be easy.
Armored Cave Spider - Ranger - Called Shot, Apply Poison, Healing Spring, Melandru's Resiliance {E}
Notes: These are at the mouth of the cave. Notice that applying conditions to them is counter productive, as they use Melandru's Resiliance.
Armored Cave Spider (type two) - Ranger - Same as above, plus Savage Shot
Notes: These are in the cave itself. Savage Shot makes spell casting a big no-no.
Shadow Army - multiple - Hardly matters, you cant fight them, just run past!
Notes: Run!
:: Skills
There is no single skillset for this run, however here are some things to consider.
You will need an on-demand speed boost, you will need to increase your armor, you will need to be stanced ~constantly, spell casting in combat is impossible, and enchantments will be removed. In addition, you will need to be able to deal damage and heal it. (duh)
While some people use a W/R for Melandru's Resliance and Storm Chaser, I have found this is not to my liking, so I use
Sprint as my speed boost.
Many people use Physical Resistance as their stance, and to good effect, too. But being a Warrior, I like to use skills which are easy on the energy (even with a Zealous weapon). That means
Dolyak Signet. While I originally recommended Watch Yourself, I have turned to using a Cleave spamming build, and like to use my adrenalin for offense. Also, I like to use a Monk secondary for reasons I will address in a moment.
If you are having serious problems getting your damage recieved low enough, try using both Dolyak Signet and Physical Resistance. Combined, you will be able to reduce Armored Cave Spiders to -0 with even subpar equipment.
I personally use Frenzy as my stance, as I can afford to keep it up constantly, and since everything but Wastrel's Worry hits me for -0 already, the double damage penalty doesnt really hurt me. If you do use Frenzy, just bewary of Wastrel's Worry, as having one hit you while you are frenzied can really take off a huge chunk of life. You can use whatever stance you want, just make sure you can keep it up all the time (Rush is a fine skill, if you just want a cheap, constant stance).
Spell casting inside combat is, where not impossible, a bad idea and a waste of energy and effort. That said, I usually bring
Watchful Spirit with me, as my only Monk skill. The reason for this is two-fold.
First, it helps against Spiders, as I am constantly poisoned, and +2 regen halves the threat from poison.
Secondly, it triggers the second damage reduction condition on my shield, reducing the damage I take from attacks.
Tertiarily, and the real reason I bring Watchful Spirit, is because of Ancient Skales. Ancient Skales are mean mofo's, and even running past them can spell your demise. However,
if you are enchanted while you aggro a Skale, they will unconditionally cast Rend Enchantments (unless another Skale in the same group is already casting it). This allows you to run past Skales without catching the wrong end of a Life Transfer.
Healing is done through Healing Signet. Its penalty of 40 armor hurts, but its healing is irreplaceable. (some people like Troll Ungent. I have also found it not to my liking in this run)
(stance of choice)
Sprint
Healing Signet
Dolyak Signet
Watchful Spirit
This leaves you with 3 skills with which to kill. I personally use Cleave and Power Attack, with a third attack skill I switch out based on mood. Penetrating Blow is a fine choice though. Just be sure to avoid Eviscerate, or any skill causing a condition, as this will only make Armored Cave Spiders harder to kill due to the regeneration of Melandru's Resiliance. Also, Cleave out-damages Eviscerate, so pick it as your elite if you go Axes, okay?
If you pick swords, you might want to try Warrior's Endurance. In its down time you can simply activate Sprint.
:: Attribute Points
There is a fundamental delima when setting up your attributes. You can raise your attributes higher at a penalty to your health, but doing so can increase your survivability. I personally use *three* Superior Runes for this run. Superior Strength, Axes, and Tactics. Yes, I only have 305 HP, on a Warrior solo farming build!
The reason is that with 15 Strength Dolyak Signet can be kept up constantly, and additional Tactics decreases the overall time I have to spend healing. Superior Axes is just there because after experimenting with those 2 Superior Runes I decided that I could live with another -75 health to speed things along, since I never let my health dip that low anyways.
You may want to limit your use of Superior Runes at first since it will give you a greater leadway if you get in a tight spot. I still suggest Superior Tactics as the extra health it grants you is very beneficial.
Here is what I personally use:
14 Strength 10 + 1 + 3
13 Axes 10 + 3
14 Tactics 10 + 3
I switch out Sup Axes and Tactics with Minor runes for while I am running.
:: Keys
Dont forget to bring Keys! Obsidian Keys are what you want for the Fissure. They might be pricey, but Fissure chest drops are totally unrivaled. A lucky drop can be worth up to (or more then) 500k+
Granted, you wont find one of those every day, but they do exist!
:: :: PART TWO - A Day At The Beach
Do not talk to Rastigan the Eternal. =)
:: Run! Shadow Army!
When you first spawn in the Fissure, there will be two groups of Shadow Army nearby, one to your left and one to your right. Turn to your right. Study the spawn, then take note of the wall on your right. You will want to roughly follow this wall, except go in a straight line so as to break aggro quicker. A second or two after you have aggro'ed, hit sprint.
Once the Shadow Army is off your tail, try to seek refuge in a small indentation in the wall. A group of 2 Shadow Warriors and a Shadow Monk will come running nearby. If you are in the right spot, you will just barely avoid aggroing them. Heal up, and wait for Spiteful Spirit to wear off, then proceed to follow the wall.
You will soon aggro a Shadow Beast (who is a popup, you cannot see him until its too late). Once you do so, sprint and look for a path to the left to run away - because around the same time, a large group of Shadow Army will be coming from a pass to your right. They will splinter up into seperate patrols and go their merry way. With a bit of practice you can easily avoid them. Hide in the area farther away from the wall, and circle around, trying your best to avoid aggroing the Shadow Army. Once youve done this, proceed to go back towards where the swarm of Shadow Army came from. It should be a pass cut into the wall that you had been following, with a downwards slope.
:: First Blood
There will be a group of 3 Snarling Driftwoods. Run near them (they have a delayed reaction time) then Dolyak Signet and stand still. They will very likely hit you for no damage, however if you move Protector's Strike spam can easily start chipping away at your health.
Kill them in whatever method is most appropriate for your build. They die almost as fast as casters. Note, they will die faster then normal if you still have a Shadow Beast hex on you. Mark of Pain will be triggered when they attack you, and it will damage them. Spiteful Spirit also damage them, as it does you.
All in all, Snarling Driftwoods are a joke. There are two ways this fight can get interesting however - one is that you take so long killing them that a patrol of Shadow Army comes back and starts attacking you. (dont worry, they wont go down the corridor very far at all) Shadow Army is hostile to Skales/Dryders/Driftwoods, so Sprinting away once they have found each other works well.
The other is that the patrolling Doubter's Dryders could sneak up on you, and start casting. Their only real source of damage is Shatter Enchantment (you didnt cast any Enchants yet, right?) and Wastrel's Worry (WW).
The key to defeating Wastrel's Worry is spamming skills. A more strategic approach is to keep from using long recharge skills until after you have had Wastrel's Worry on you for around a second. Dont worry too much if a Doubter's Dryder adds itself to the fight, as it is best to know how to fight over the long term while they are hexing you.
If you see Shadow Army approaching, be sure not to reapply Dolyak Signet at a bad time! Also, do not walk away while you are crippled. This will merely result in the Driftwoods spamming Protectors Strike, something you dont want.
:: Dodging The Skales
After your done, move further down the corridor, and take note of the lay of the land. Spawns differ, so the same tactic wont work here every time, but a good tip is to wait until a patrol of Snarling Driftwood moves near the Skale, then pull out your Flatbow and plink one of them with an arrow. Slowly move backwards as they run up to you, then hit Dolyak Signet right as they are about to close range. Just be sure that you are significantly far enough from the Skales that you can fight without worry of aggroing them.
After you have dispatched the Driftwood, it is time to pull the Skales. Wait, I know I sound crazy and hypocritical, but listen to what I have to say. However if you are to aggro them, then lead them up the corridor, then Sprint away (breaking aggro), they will not return to where they were previously, but will stay more uphill, and closer to you, on this pass. You can then run past them and towards the beach itself, and loose aggro on them before aggroing anything else. Clever, aye?
The ideal way to pull them is to plink them with a Flatbow, then quickly turn around and walk away, keeping just outside of their aggro range but not using any speed boost. This is unneccessary, but makes the process quicker. Using a Liuetenant's Helm will cut the duration of Life Siphon / Drain by 20%, essentially cutting their damage by the same amount. Also unneccessary, also preferable. Just dont aggro any Dryder's while you are wearing that helm!
Its also possible to use an enchantment to goad them into using Rend Enchantments first, instead of Life Transfer, giving you a significant window in which to flee.
Proceed along the beach, pulling mobs as far away from Skales as possible. If neccessary, pull the Skales out of their spawns as I described above, to let you run past them easier. Beware the last big group, as you will have Skales wandering *very* close from both sides. This is why I suggest you pull each group of Skales out of their normal spawn before you try to run past.
:: Dodging The Skales - Gone Awry!
If you should accidentally aggro Skales while fighting something else (they have wide areas they wander about in, so this is easily possible) -do not panic-. Minus ten degen is hella scary, but simply stay still and stay calm. Use Healing Signet whenever its charged. The degen will deal 120 damage to you over 6 seconds, but your Healing Signet should heal for more then that. If you have other mobs on you, be sure to use Watch Yourself for the Snarling, and carefully timed spam skills to defeat the Doubter's WW.
Once you have niether Cripple nor Dolyak Signet on you, its time to make a run for it. Sprint away from the Skales, preferably into an open area, but intentionally aggroing a mob you know you can handle is sometimes neccessary.
If you are pro, or if you simply have enough time to do so, switch your armor out so you are using only Minor Str and Minor Swords. Superior Tactics is worth its weight in platinum here, so suck it up and live with the health penalty.
Switch to a Lieutenant's Helm, but beware the reduced hex duration makes WW *more* dangerous to you, and can sometimes result in dying faster with it then without.
Once you are away from the Skales, find a secluded spot and start luring killable mobs to you, trying to make it even more secluded.
:: Just Like Pre-Searing!
Thrill-seekers, whom this run attracts, will be glad to hear it is possible to solo Skales. And it is very hard, nothing at all like River Skale Tads would leave you to believe.
The only way to do it with the build I have outlined is to focus on damage, while
healing as little as possible. This is so that when they use Grenth's Balance to try to suck your life, they do not get anything. Just be aware that the cap on degen is at -10, which is 20 damage per second. Also, give yourself some wiggle room - half second lag spikes are alot more common then your client actually shows.
Ideally, you will whittle a Skale down, while healing when necessary only, and begin a spike while they are casting to goad them into using grenths balance afterwards. You should time your healing signet so that you are in the middle of using it while they cast Grenth's Balance, so you get healed, but they dont. Hopefully they are healed almost nothing, and you can then finish them off while Grenth's Balance is recharging.
This is not easy folks, and if you mess up you likely lack anyone to rez you, so pull this stunt at your own risk!
:: :: PART THREE - Arachna-cide
Progress along the beach until you see a group of 3 Doubter's Dryders in a Delta formation to your left, with another Dryder behind them. Now its time for the hard (fun) part =)
:: Manipulating The Spawn
This is the cave. Dont simply run in unprepared, as Armored Cave Spiders will drop down from the cieling once you aggro them. Like the Shadow Beasts you wont know when you will aggro them until you have already done so. So, prepare yourself, make sure you are focused and will not be pulled away, then walk into the cave until you see Armored Cave Spiders drop down.
Now... Run away! This is important! Hit sprint and get yourself out of there. Armored Cave Spiders will continue to spawn in groups of 3 at regular intervals. They will, if noone has aggroed them, spread out along the beach in front of the cave. Let them do so, and let them fan out. While you are waiting, go ahead and cast Watchful Spirit on yourself.
:: Fighting It Out
After the Spiders have fanned out, pick a lone Spider, off to the side and away from the Doubter's Dryders (Dont aggro them yet!). Sprint up to the lone Spider, position yourself so that you are facing towards the majority of the spiders which are attacking you (you suffer a penalty for attacks incoming from your flank), and start wailing on your target. You will notice that despite their name, their armor is not really all that hot.
You will want to pick off lone Spiders first (so another Spider's Healing Spring doesnt help heal them). Attacking a Spider will interupt their Healing Spring, try to do so as often as possible. It is on a 20 second recharge, same as Dolyak Signet. Use that as a benchmark, and make sure that you arent using a Healing Signet while they are activating Healing Spring. Also, be sure not to use Healing Signet while Dolyak Signet is recharging.
If you are wary of aggroing so many spiders at once, you can wait for all the Spiders to spawn and fan out, then pull the one wandering nearest you with your Flatbow. This way you can easily avoid Dryders until you have cleared most of the Spiders. This is recommended for your first run, but you may need to run to engage the pulled Spiders, so they do not clump together.
If you need to take a break (and this is understandable) simply Sprint away and take refuge from the area of the beach where you came (or maybe near the Eternal over there). Again, dont underestimate the wander range for a Skale.
As you progress about, killing lone spider after lone spider you will notice that many other Spiders have been pulled together into a clump as they have been following you. To break this up you will have to sprint away and let them fan out. You can either return to kill any you can without aggroing a Doubter's Dryder, or you can kill the Dryders. I recommend doing the first, then the second.
When trying to kill Doubter's Dryders, you do not want to be in a situation in which you can not activate a skill. For many builds this means you must be able to attack constantly, which can be difficult if you have Dolyak Signet on, and just killed your target!
There are a few solutions to this. You can use a flatbow to pull the Dryders towards you into a clump, so that reduced movement speed hardly matters. Or, you can wait to engage the Dryders until there are some Spiders near the Dryders. Or, you can time when you kill the Dryders.
No matter what you decide to do, remember to take Watchful Spirit down when aggoring them!
Without Dryders, there is no real threat to you here other then poison. If you are taking damage from the Spiders while using Healing Signet, consider a shield with additional damage reduction, or a Superior Absorption, or putting more points into Strength.
Here is an action shot - it was taken immediatly after Wastrel's Worry had triggered, hence the low HP. Please ignore the 'poor form' I was using in aggroing all the mobs at once. Its just something I like to do =)
(that 'primary thread' link is now invalid)
:: Clearing The Cave
Clearing the cave is easy next to the massive spawn at the start. There are two groups of three Spiders on either side of each of the Dryders that are spaced along the length of the cave. Simply handle these the same way that you had before (including triggering the spawn), and be sure to pull when you feel its neccessary (especially to get them to not ball up in a Healing Spring).
You will know you have cleared the cave once a path opens up to the right, where you can probably see Shadow Army. Make sure you have aggroed all the hidden spawns of Spiders, then replace your Superior Weapon rune with something else. Exit the cave just far enough so that lots of Shadow Beasts pop up out of the ground. Heal continiously against them, and they will eventually sacrifice themselves to death. You can use enchantments against them without worry, but should not attack as it will trigger Spiteful Spirit. They too can drop Shards.
From here, you can either quit, or go chest running.
Chest running is when you run as far as you can, looking for chests. Keys are 1.5k each, and well worth it. The next time you get a r8 gold Chaos Axe you will know what Im talking about =) If picking up a chest will draw aggro, it is wisest to save your sprint until *after* you have picked up the chest drop, so you can break aggro.
PART FOUR - Summary
The real appeal behind this run is the fact that everything you kill has a chance at dropping an Obsidian Shard (as well as the occassional Ruby/Sapphire). Shards go for >3.5k to other players, and the gems go for about 5k, with prices rising.
Also, it is significantly harder and less forgiving then other types of farming, which is rewarding in its own sort of way. [its also a nice change of especially since entire Griffon race was hunted to extinction]
Dont salvage your Gloom Seeds! While they are useless, they are 60g each, and you are far better off if you sell them to merchant. Its not uncommon for me to finance my next run solely off of drops from the previous run.
:: Resources
Racthoh, a user at guildwarsguru, has posted an excellent guide on this and many other interesting topics, largely regarding Warrior farming. I am not allowed to post links, but check his posts out.
:: Questions?
If you have any questions, ask them here.
Do *not* talk to me ingame. I hate to sound rude, but I simply can not rely on people to do something other then pester me with the most astonishingly noobish questions. And, at great length, too.
Read this thread in its entirety, as well as the old thread, for information.
:: Reproduction
Feel free to reproduce any guide I may write,
IN SO LONG AS YOU:
1) Do not attempt to pass yourself of as me
2) Give me sufficient credit, including a working link to where you obtained my guide
3) Inform me
That is not a pick and choose sort of thing, you must do all 3.
Credit to creator of this build/thread Ubermancer
Apr 07, 2006, 03:12 PM // 15:12
Teaching fow/ids with war and ranger
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