Curse

Trey · Jan 21, 2011, 04:22 PM // 16:22

Started a fresh character over and so far I'm going through EotN. Elementalist as my primary profession and H/H'd everything so far. I've only maxed Protector for Tyria so I'm pretty young in my GWAMM, but I've completed the Northern Allies quest chain in EotN.

Introductions aside, I'm trying to decide whether to complete the quests and all the EotN dungeons in NM and HM, then get Protector for all the other campaigns.

Problem is, I don't think I have enough tools to be successful in HM yet. I've capped mainly forgettable elites along the way through Prophecies, of which the only terribly useful ones in my best approximation are ER and SS (I have an E/N). I run an Ether Renewal Orders build because I figure that damage output outpaces all the other options I have at the time.

My heroes run an Earth Shaker, Ele Warder and Enduring Warrior respectively. I fill out the henchies with two Mos, two Ws and an Ele. This setup has worked well enough in NM (I've wiped a few times, but mostly because of bad pulling, over-aggroing, or massive caster-hate).

So, I'm just looking for some suggestions to what a decent course of action would be in this situation. Thanks.

tcratty · Jan 21, 2011, 04:42 PM // 16:42

i would say finish up all the NM stuff that you can do before you start doing any HM stuff

when i did mine also an elementalist i jumped all over the place and had to do alot of backtracking needless to say but it wasnt fun there is also a guide to GWAMM on guru

Spiritz · Jan 21, 2011, 05:26 PM // 17:26

Some players actually split up what they need to do in each campaign - eg tyrian cart + elites and other tend to do the campaigns in parts and swap between campaigns so its not too boring.Doing 1 campaign from start to finish with cart an elite can be a bit boring but swap around and it makes it a bit more fun but only if you have already done all campaigns on the account first.Some players even do areas/missions in nm then do again in hm but they usually have most skills etc on that chr.
Personally id sit down and work out exactly whats the easiest titles to get ( exclude sweet/party as they can be bought ) and then plan how you want to do it.
On a side note eotn can be usefull if you do its titles first but only due to some of the eotn skills will make things a lot easier - eg asuran scan , pain invertor , ursan ( yes i said ursan lol ) as you can have a bit of fun with ursan in the early areas of the game .

AndrewSX · Jan 21, 2011, 05:31 PM // 17:31

I'm almost like you, only 20 titles ahead

Well, the best thing you can do to jump succesfully in HM(and make things easier in NM) is unlock all heroes and the skills used for the most important hero builds : stuff like UA, Panic, SoS, ST and so on.... looking arond on PvX can give you some ideas about what you need. Just remember that PvX builds aren't necessarily the most effective...just saying. I'm assuming that you for "H/H everything" means all 4 campains.... If not, remember you must take all of them to GWAMM, and NF gives you the largest number of heroes.
However, you should start with the protectors+guardians titles. You'll test your builds both in NM and HM, and gives you 7 quite easy titles, just for start. Then you can begin thinking about vanquishing/exploration(most time consuming part of gwamm imo)..... leave EotN titles as last, or do them latter anyways, they're not easy or fast.

P.S: looking at your current team compositon about heroes, there is large room for improvement... meele Ai sucks and wards aren't so indispensable, expecially if you can turn that ele in a ER protter.

Trey · Jan 21, 2011, 05:33 PM // 17:33

I was going to do Cartographer with Vanquishing, but that's a ways off. At the moment I'm focusing on Master of the North and Legendary Guardian. I was considering doing it all NM then coming back in hard mode and finishing it off, but yes like you said maxing the PvE skill linked titles in EotN will prove beneficial to the rest of the game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewSX

P.S: looking at your current team compositon about heroes, there is large room for improvement... meele Ai sucks and wards aren't so indispensable, expecially if you can turn that ele in a ER protter.

Thanks for the input. I'm aware I'm deficient in plenty of areas in my teambuild, but I like to think it's because I'm so under-equipped at the moment (this is a virgin-start run and I'm only through Prophecies so far).

I was considering ER protter, but I like to facilitate damage rather than push bars. I like to deal damage more than anything, but that's just not in the Elementalist's cards in HM. So far I'm doing fine with two monk henchies. When I get some Rit heroes under my belt, that may change.

Tharg · Jan 21, 2011, 07:04 PM // 19:04

if you don't have Legendary Survivor, your biggest problem is going to be the 30th title. You'll get stuck on choosing between maxing Luxon/Kurzick, Treasure Hunter or Wisdom.

cataphract · Jan 21, 2011, 07:19 PM // 19:19

Agreed with Tharg. Survivor makes it so much easier to get GWAMM.

I too would concentrate on getting some PvE skills from EotN and making them reasonably strong. These skills primarily include Pain Inverter, EVAS and "Finish him!". While you're questing through EotN be sure to cap AP right outside Rata Sum. I know you mentioned E/N, but a build based around AP and EVAS will make things so much easier. Something like this: OgdTgYW6TaBCcYXscAZQuctMcAA. Drop Mindbender for "Finish him!" and geegee.

Other than that - get all three necro heroes as early as you can. Autopilot ftw.

LifeInfusion · Jan 21, 2011, 07:34 PM // 19:34

If you are going for GWAMM I wouldn't go for it on a Ele. Quit while you are ahead.

In all seriousness, you are best using something that actually does damage/utility in Hard mode seeing how you need hard mode for:

4 vanquisher
4 guardian
all 6 reputation titles (norn, dwarf, Vanguard, asura, SS, LB)
Master of the North

= 15 titles of 30

If you're wiping in Normal mode you won't make it through Hard mode without cons and dp removers.

Cool Name · Jan 21, 2011, 07:52 PM // 19:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeInfusion

If you are going for GWAMM I wouldn't go for it on a Ele. Quit while you are ahead.

In all seriousness, you are best using something that actually does damage/utility in Hard mode seeing how you need hard mode for:

4 vanquisher
4 guardian
all 6 reputation titles (norn, dwarf, Vanguard, asura, SS, LB)
Master of the North

= 15 titles of 30

If you're wiping in Normal mode you won't make it through Hard mode without cons and dp removers.

I think that's a bit pessimistic. My main being an ele, I agree they are pretty bad when it comes to HM. However, once he has gotten through EotN, he will most likely be using 3 PvE skills and a res sig anyway. That leaves 4 ele skills. I find that in most missions there are a few specific skills you'll want to take for a specific reason. Gaze of Fury, for example. Then he only has a few ele specific skills left to take.

Since he has already got heroes and tyrian protector (yes, it doesn't take that long, but more repetition is bad) then I'd say stick with it.

Unless you want to go for survivor, which I wish I had.

chuckles79 · Jan 21, 2011, 08:58 PM // 20:58

I'm sure I'll get some grief for saying this, but your best bet is to "easy mode" and get your 3 necros early for discordway.
While it's definitely cookie cutter, it'll chew through NM like hot knife through butter, especially if H/h is the only option you have right now.
The next question I have is do you have Nightfall and Factions? It's pretty hard to get GWAMM without them so I will assume that you do. I would recommend that you go through that campaign next, because the skills and elites in that one are very kind to elementalists.
I would then do EotN before factions, because there is more to gain from doing EotN next. Especially in PvE only skills, which are very nice for eles right now because many of those skills are superior to 90% of the ele skill list right now.
After that, I recommend using the daily Zaishen Missions and Bounties to work on your HM titles. I don't know what your schedule is like but if you can commit 30-60min a day you can max out your four titles in just a couple of months.
Use your books for Asura, then Norn, then Dwarf and Ebon Vanguard. You'll get plenty of dwarf points from doing dungeons, and if you complete the War In Kryta content, you can ratchet up your EV points with the Keiran missions.
That will give you 11 titles right there. Turning in Nightfall books and some Ruins farming will get you SS/LB for 2 more, plus enough gold and goods to buy at least one elite armor for your Hall of Monuments.
After those, is the hard parts. There's some 270(?) elite skills in the game. You can use elite tomes for the hard to find ones, if you do some PvP on the side (I recommend JQ and FA, in factions) but you'll most likely end up spending roughly 1k per an elite.
This will yield 4 titles on completion though. (17 titles now, good job; more than my main toon actually). Then it's cartography, download TexMod and read the "cartography made easy" article on wiki. This will be the most grinding, grueling, and boring thing in all of GW, but it will also yield 4 more titles. (21 titles and many leather bound books). Next is LMoftN, which you will get after VQing the entire EotN campaign and completing every dungeon and mission in NM and HM, and uncover all that map. Apparently you can skip 1 dungeon sometimes (may I recommend Duncan in either NM or HM, especially as an ele. The last "easy ones" are Vanquishing all three campaigns. At this point you have only 4 titles to go. Drunkard, Sweet Tooth are the low hanging ones left. After that you can go for both faction titles, or at least one faction title and Treasure Hunter.
Anyone can get to 25-28 with just effort and time. My father is almost 61 and he has a GH smelling of mahogany.
The real question, is do you have the time to neglect the other aspects of your life to the point where this is a realistic goal?

Some things that will greatly reduce the time you spend, reliable guildies and/or friends and family that play the game. Having teammates that are semi-competent is always better than H/h.

The greatest advice I can give is always give yourself time (don't start missions when you have to leave in 15 minutes, please!) and do not ragequit. People quitting in frustration is the main thing blocking 90% of players from GWAMM. Having a methodical approach and a tolerance for farming areas multiple times (Secret Lair of the Snowmen for Dwarf title?) are keys to success.

Trey · Jan 21, 2011, 09:21 PM // 21:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeInfusion

If you are going for GWAMM I wouldn't go for it on a Ele. Quit while you are ahead.

In all seriousness, you are best using something that actually does damage/utility in Hard mode seeing how you need hard mode for:

4 vanquisher
4 guardian
all 6 reputation titles (norn, dwarf, Vanguard, asura, SS, LB)
Master of the North

= 15 titles of 30

If you're wiping in Normal mode you won't make it through Hard mode without cons and dp removers.

My capacity to play the game isn't the issue. It's the tools currently at my disposal which is the problem. I wipe here and there, but I'm confident in my ability to H/H all the HM H/H'able areas if properly equipped.

I'm doing it on an Ele as well; and I was going to do Wisdom and Kurzick anyways. I'll dabble in some Treasure Hunting while Vanquishing and Cartographing.

I take it the general consensus is to get the PvE skills first, then steamroll NM across the board, come back for Master of the North, then get Legendary Guardian and work from there?

@chuckles: Thanks for that write-up, it was much more concise and easily as helpful as that GWAMM guide I read on here.

Tharg · Jan 22, 2011, 04:59 PM // 16:59

I 100% agree with the Discordway suggestion. And that is actually easy to manage with an ele.

Make sure you always have lock picks and open every chest while you're at it.

Tried and Triumphed · Jan 23, 2011, 05:46 AM // 05:46

Chuckles suggestion seems to be the most viable although I might only agree because it's similar to what I'm doing on my ele just go pveasy way with an AP discord caller build(the only viable option for ele's at this point) and keep your head up.