Curse

ubermancer · Jan 08, 2006, 10:32 PM // 22:32

Farming Ettins may have been feasible for every class (hence its massive popularity) however my rune farm run is only really feasible for two classes - Mesmers and Monks. What it lacks in flexibility, it makes up for in drop quality!

Before I begin, let me say it another way - this is not for everyone. Farming this area is hard to do effectively, and you are unlikely to do it efficiently your first try. If you like big challanges and rewards though, this is the spot for you! (I, of course, cannot guarantee your drop quality)

First up, is how to get the Titans (yes you read that right - Titans!) you will be killing for this run to spawn. You must have the Defend Denravi quest (repeatable). In order to get this quest, you must A) complete the mission Hell's Precipice (hey some incentive to do it!) B) complete the quest Defend Droknar's Forge, which you can recieve (after you have completed Hell's Precipice) by kneeling at the shrine to Glint at Droknar's Forge (its nearish the Xunlai Storage Agents).

All quests Glint gives are repeatable, so you can farm them for XP if you really want to, but in all honesty Troll farming with a cheap scroll is faster XP. While attempting the Defend Droknars Forge (DDF) I recommend you bring heavy hex removal (shatter hex = godly) and a -energy switch, because the Titans there (which I dont suggest you try to farm =) ) will be hexing you with Malaise and Wither. After you have the Defend Denravi (DD) quest (also recieved from the Vision of Glint) you can head on over to Denravi, and get ready to farm. =)

Next is the build. I use an I-Monk for this, utilizing Mantra of Resolve from my Mesmer secondary to avoid interuptions by the Water Born Titans. Mo/Me and Me/Mo can use the same skills and (roughly the same) attribute points, but Mo/Me is better suited. It is also *possible* with a Necro using Spiteful Spirit and also as a Warrior primary with armor buffing skills, but not recommended due to problems with interupts and healing.

Here are the two weapon groups I use. Sometimes, I switch the -HP offhand out for a sheer energy booster, depending on my DP and need for energy.

The reason Im using a Brute Sword is because I stole it off of my Warrior. I sold my HOD sword - a decision Im regretting. If you have one for sale, you know how to find me ingame =)

Perfect equipment is not in any way required, but is of course prefered. A set of normal armor (no sup runes), a set of I-Monk armor, and several Scalp Designs (head armor) with varying strengths of runes is highly suggested. This allows you to switch armor out to achieve the ideal mix between HP and attribute points, at any DP (Death Penalty). I personally have 2 pieces of armor for my hands, legs, and feet, with 4 pieces on my chest (one for each type of Vigor rune - none through superior), 6 on my head, and a 4 different Swords/Axes of Fortitude. (I use my I-Monk often in very sticky situations, so it is essential I be able to switch equipment quickly as I loose DP and my HP rises)

Having to switch armors in battle is (all but) essential for this run. Get used to it, and be prepared =) If you do not have a purple/gold -20 focus, one can either be bought for around ~5k, or obtained by completing the Poor Tenant quest in presearing. (near Devona & the guy with the bee problem) Purple/Gold -20 focuses are best as they provide the most energy, but are far from neccessary.

Zealots Fire and Holy Strike are personal favorites for this run, however I have only rarely done this run after the AOE nerf and I am sure my build is still flawed so feel free to experiment. I consider the rest of the skills neccessary, and you may like to bring Arcane Echo or Blessed Aura to buff Shield of Judgement. Also, Symbol Of Wrath is a perfect skill if you know how to manipulate mob's AI to keep them from fleeing from AOE's. If not, its probably a poor skill to have - but one I enjoy profusely, as its 'spike' damage helps me kill Wild Growths without bothering to interupt their Troll Ungent.

When you first walk into Tangle Root (the area outside of Denravi) Evennia will be standing with a small escort. Ignore her, and do *not* talk to her. Doing so changes the spawns, and causes the quest to progress as scripted - which is largely about you defending her, something an I-Monk is unable to do effectively. Switch your armors out and use a +1 Healing Scalp in order to reach 13 Healing then cast Mending. (*highly* suggested, not required. Wild Growths have Poison, which is -4 HP degen, the same as the bonus provided by Mending at 13 Healing) Cast Balthazar's Spirit, then switch your armor back to reach 55 HP.

Follow the path, and soon ~3 Titans will pop out of the ground and attack you. Do not die to them or retreat, as they will run towards Evennia. And while her guards can probably protect her, its alot easier if you just handle them. Use Mantra of Resolve only if you are facing a Water Born Titan, elsewise save your energy. If youve decided to use Zealot's Fire, try spacing your casts of targeted spells (Protective Spirit, Healing Breeze, and Shield of Judgement included) by a couple of seconds, to prevent the Titans from scattering. If you have few Titans left, use Holy Strike on the ones which have the most HP, and try to get them to all die at roughly the same time, so you do not get stuck with only one Titan left, who is at half HP, while your Protective Spirit is about to run out, with no energy to recast =)

While you are fighting them, a swarm of friendly critters (whom, if you dont have the DD quest, are significantly less friendly!) will likely run past you and Evennia, to take refuge inside Denravi! Note the direction they come from (west) as this is where you are going. Proceed and run to where the minimap indicates in the bottom picture below, in order to get a large number of Titans to pop up. Here is a before and after picture of the farmed area:

Wild Growths have Troll Ungent and a fairly high Wilderness Survival, so unless your build is set up for direct damage it is unlikely you will be able to kill them. I personally do not bother as slaughtering the rest of the Titans quicker is more profitable.

Wild Growths use Apply Poison and Spike Trap. While attempting to aggro all the Titans make sure you precast Healing Breeze so you do not get KD'ed without it on. Intentionally trigger Spike Traps when you are prepared for them to keep from getting surprised later. Killing a Wild Growth results in an Earth, Air, and Water Born Titan to spawn.

Keep Mantra of Resolve up constantly until all the Water Born Titans die. If you only cast when neccessitated, you will actually GAIN energy from Maelstroms, even with Mantra of Resolve. However, the result is a massive spike of energy loss, which combined with the -50 icons unreliable conditional energy boost, can put you in a bad place, quick. Make sure you have enough energy to withstand interuptions. If you use Arcane Echo you may want to increase your Inspiration.

If you have many Titans who are not near death, use Holy Strike on the mobs which are going down the fastest (note, this is important) so that you can anticipate the change in DP and change your armor/weapons/foci as needed. Of course, if they are attacking through Shield of Judgement (and not all will) try to coordinate Holy Strike with their knockdown. Holy Strike is not a spell, and will not be effected by Maelstrom.

Unless you are prepared, avoid Rotting Titans like the plague. They have heavy degen and Rend Enchantments. Any questions?

Do not be afraid to fight the Titans with heavy DP. This will allow you to, with practice and quick reflexes, accurately control your HP. I personally die a few times intentionally before I begin farming for just this reason. I can reach 17-19 HP (ideal for an I-Monk) at most DP's more then ~15%.

If you are able to kill the Titans, you will be rewarded with any number of items. Their favorite drops are Molten Claws (redeemable for XP scrolls at a Collector on Perdition Rock) and Titan Armors. In the run which I screenshotted for this guide, I found 1 Rare, 3 Purple, and 1 Blue Titan Armors - including 2 Major Vigors. This is an average drop for the run. Titans also drop "Magmas Arms" which is a rare name for a common hammer skin, as well as Magmas Shields, which is a common name for a rare (and valuable) shield skin =D

Beware, I cannot guarantee your drops, but I can say that I have gotten MULTIPLE Superior Vigors and Superior Absorption runes here (they seem to drop lots of Warrior runes for me...) and also several other very high quality Gold weapons. Being Elementalists, they tend to drop elementalist items, but it is not all that uncommon to find gold FDS and other valuable items here.

It should be noted that it seems that Anti-Farm has a disproportionatly heavy influence on rune farming spots, or any place where you are making more a gamble with your time. This is to say, you could get 10 Gold armors, that all ID to Majors, or 1 Gold that turns out to be a Superior Vigor. The first is more likely to happen if you are suffering the effects of Anti-Farm. This is what I have observed in my tests, at least. I use strict controls, too, so it is unlikely my results are contaminated. In order to defeat Anti-Farm I switch where I farm after every run, and often change secondaries/characters as well. I rush a mission or two every rotation through all the spots I farm, and I very rarely suffer from Anti-Farm. (anyone caught referring to the "Anti-Farm Code" will be shot on sight. questions about "Anti-Farm" are acceptable, as are any synonyms that do not make my, a coder's, blood boil.)

Next up: How to farm (those damn) Mursaat!

remmeh · Jan 09, 2006, 12:33 AM // 00:33

mmmm... yummy. i will be sure to try this later. thanks

tuna-fish_sushi · Jan 09, 2006, 03:34 AM // 03:34

wow ubermancer your crazy you can do anything with a 55monk
i am definately gotta try this out

Rhuobhe · Jan 09, 2006, 10:54 AM // 10:54

Keep up the good work Righteous Theory!

Thanks for the build/idea!!

Senator Tom · Jan 10, 2006, 12:35 AM // 00:35

can you post some of your loot?

ledzep122 · Jan 10, 2006, 02:01 AM // 02:01

thanks alot, im definately gonna try this!

P.S.
You should get some ice for your wrist.

Rhuobhe · Jan 10, 2006, 05:02 AM // 05:02

Works well. For me, I found it works better by substituting blessed aura in place of zealots fire and placing some points in devine favor. I tried messaging you and saying something but you must have been busy killing titans or something

Good tips on getting around anti-farm, I'll have to try it next time.

Are the spawning locations of the Rotten Titans random? I have a lot of trouble finding a way to consistantly avoid them and hence get a clean run. Does your anti-farm technique make the spawns more suitable?

Any ETA for a Mursatt-slayer?

Maiyn · Jan 10, 2006, 08:26 AM // 08:26

I tried this with my monk earlier, and I must say great job. I didn't think to farm these. Then I got to thinking if it would work with a W/Me ... but there is no way I'm going to get through the last two missions with my poor warrior. She is cursed! Never mean to get 100 blades

hahaha.

I dunno tho, I might have to try that out. Haven't soloed Mursaat yet! 2-team months back when you could still prot bond, but it was so painfully slow that we gave up and returned to soloing the UW.. :P but I dunno, hmm.. I will be impressed to see that.

Are mursaat even worth farming? What about dreadnoughts drift? i cleared out a bunch of stuff in there today, and I didn't find anything worthwhile. I was hoping for some goodies :/ If you open those lost strongboxes solo it is pretty fun tho :P Definitely not worth the time.

Why doesn't this website have like a "farming" forum. Please

That's a good idea, someone should implement that

FreshTrax · Jan 12, 2006, 02:50 PM // 14:50

Works great! I went from Lions Arch instead. I was able to clear the entire area twice last night. I went with a guildmate who is a Necro/Mo and he set up spiteful build. They went down really fast. We cleared the entire area then went and talked to Captain Greywind to finish the quest. The group that spawns there is huge. We were able to take out about half of them before Greywind went down. I couldnt keep sacraficing my Breeze for Greywind.

Otherwise we could have finished the mission. GJ on the idea.

Talon one · Jan 16, 2006, 08:30 AM // 08:30

cool guide, i do the runs with my warrior/mesmer, mainly for skillpoints and practice (and fun). i have to kill the titans one by one, each taking around 30 seconds - and i often die when i'm surprised by a patrol while fighting a group of 5 titans, probably not the most efficient way to do the run. how long does it take a monk to kill a group?
best things i've found so far are superior mesmer runes, major absorbtion/vigor, a 15>50 axe and a lot of white and purple fellblades and magmas shields. and i'm earning more gold than i need for skillpoints

Gildor Took · Jan 16, 2006, 08:56 AM // 08:56

sorry to hear you sold your HoD sword but you can go get something even "better" the fiery flame spitter which is located south of serenity temple and is one of the most elusive collectors ( the collector sometimes doesn't spawn) for 3 scorched lodestones you can get the fiery flame spitter with skill recharge (10% chance) and on top of that you can add a 19%/20% enchanting mod.

noblepaladin · Jan 25, 2006, 11:05 PM // 23:05

can someone list the skills? the pictures are gone because of "bandwidth exceeded"

M C H A M M E R · Jan 26, 2006, 04:32 PM // 16:32

I've been wondering what a fiery flame spitter is lol. What is the collectors name?

Wrath Of Dragons · Jan 29, 2006, 04:22 AM // 04:22

dunno his name, but www.guildwiki.org has him listed, and a map of his location.
you may have to rezone a few times....hes elusive.
its an axe with 10% universal skill recharge

kaze0099 · Jan 29, 2006, 10:58 AM // 10:58

What is an HoD sword? o_O

Swang · Jan 29, 2006, 11:04 AM // 11:04

henge of denravi sword

they nerfed it so u can only buy it from thoese that had it before. it gives +5energy.

Evolve · Jan 29, 2006, 12:13 PM // 12:13

hmm, are you sure those quest are repeatable?
I completed them when they first came out and glint aint giving them again.

kamoeh · Jan 31, 2006, 04:46 AM // 04:46

Hi,can anyone plz repost this Build ?
The pics are down.
Thx

MfG
Kamoeh

Tyrent Frath · Jan 31, 2006, 05:03 AM // 05:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maiyn

What about dreadnoughts drift? i cleared out a bunch of stuff in there today, and I didn't find anything worthwhile. I was hoping for some goodies :/ If you open those lost strongboxes solo it is pretty fun tho :P Definitely not worth the time.

i do that run, go up with 4 sup salvage kits, use em all...

its mostly a material run for people who have patience to sell in droks...honestly, its worked out nicely for me.

Indian · Jan 31, 2006, 05:39 AM // 05:39

not sure wut skills u use but

this is wut i used

mending
breeze
soj
power drain
mantra of resolve
channeling
prot spirit
blessed aura

power drain mainly for those farkin maelstorms, sometimes thers only 1 water born titan.. & sometimes there r 4 >< i can manage till up to 2 only
i wish they didnt used maelstorm it would have made farmin em much easier + it get sboring after while.. even though tonsa xp + runes (so far 8 maj vigs)
but i like "the lost strongbox" farmin better than this