Recommended Character Level To Reach Lions Arch? - Guild Wars Forums

Silmaneth · May 23, 2011, 10:43 AM // 10:43

Hi All,

I'm just wondering what level people suggest my character should be before attempting the Missions required to reach Lions Arch?
I'm currntly only at level 9 with my Warrior and am working my way through the Ascalon (post-searing) quests and have completed the initial mission, though I'd like to get to Lions Arch and travel to the other campaign settings to pick up a hero or two.

Any advice and suggestions are appreciated,

S.

ele kid · May 23, 2011, 10:51 AM // 10:51

If you want to enjoy the game, i'd recommend to simply follow the storyline. by doing the missions, you will eventually reach lions arch.

If you want to speed things up, you can "pay" people for their services, so you will buy a run to LA.
after that you can always ask a guildmember or officer to help you with the quest (sunspears in kryta) to go to kamadan. this will take no longer then 15mins.
or you can level up till level 10 and get to eotn and get your heros there...

HigherMinion · May 23, 2011, 10:55 AM // 10:55

Whatever level you are when you reach there, doesn't matter too much. Unless you find you're dying far too much and already have the highest Armour Rating for your class. If I recall right, I think I was level 13 when I first got to Lion's Arch doing quests and missions properly.

Highlander Of Alba · May 23, 2011, 11:09 AM // 11:09

Hi there,

As you are 9 proberly you arrived at fort ranik and it said your armour is to low for this mission.

This can confuse some a general guide is look at the Hench if they are the same level or lower than you then you can proceed .

As previous poster has said you will be a decent level when you reach Lions Arch. You are wishing heros then as also said you have the 2 options either eye or to over to kamadden.

You will get level 15 heros when you arrive in Kamadden and a few level 20s when you arrive in Eye.

Be aware though that they only have a Basic build so you will have to obtain skills to upgrade them to a better skillbar.

Pick up every quest along the way to Lions Arch as skills cost nothing by doing the simple quests. ( always pop back into Ascalon as quests appear there after a few missions also)

Only thing i can add is Armour this is dependent on what funding you have so spend wisley get Max armour at 1k a peice or wait till you are at desert to collect Collectors max armour for obtaining items in desert.

Enjoy playing through at least to Lions Arch to give you an insight into the game no need to rush there

majoho · May 23, 2011, 11:17 AM // 11:17

I think you get to Yaks Bend at around 13 if you do all quests, so I would say around level 15.

DO NOT LISTEN to people telling you to get a run or fancy stuff like that just play the game and enjoy it.

syronj · May 23, 2011, 11:18 AM // 11:18

Also, I don't recommend going to Eye of the North until you're at least level 14 as I was. EotN is aimed more at level 20, though the expansion will treat you as a level 20 in some ways no matter what. If you have Factions and Nightfall, I would start characters in those games too.

Shayne Hawke · May 23, 2011, 01:30 PM // 13:30

Same level or above of the henchmen in your area is where you should always be in Prophecies, and that should come at very little trouble.

If you haven't already finished a campaign before, avoid the expansion content until later. Maybe you can jump into it momentarily to pick up Ogden and Vekk, but going much further would probably be a bad idea.

Calista Blackblood · May 23, 2011, 02:29 PM // 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shayne Hawke

Same level or above of the henchmen in your area is where you should always be in Prophecies, and that should come at very little trouble.

If you haven't already finished a campaign before, avoid the expansion content until later. Maybe you can jump into it momentarily to pick up Ogden and Vekk, but going much further would probably be a bad idea.

Always have the option here of using Kilroy's to level up. Access it in Gunnar's Hold if you follow the Norn questline.

Urcscumug · May 23, 2011, 02:43 PM // 14:43

Don't get heroes for Prophecies. At least for your very first run through it.

And stop listening to people who tell you how to level up faster. They're basically telling you to throw away your game. You level up fast when you want to farm for money or a title or the Hall of Monuments and you need to skip the irrelevant parts of the game, NOT if it's your first time playing.

If you feel you absolutely must, and you have EotN, do the quest that takes you to Boreal Station and get Ogden. But other than Ogden to replace Alesia (and maybe Vekk instead of Orion, or as Ether Renewal healer), I wouldn't replace any henchies. And even Ogden will be worse than Alesia if you don't know what to put on his bar.

If you get heroes you will completely lose any joy of playing Prophecies. All the biggest and baddest enemies you're supposed to meet are going to feel like a joke. And no, I don't mean some gimmicky team build off PvX, just simple sensible builds placed on heroes of max level are enough to steamroll through Prophecies in Normal Mode. Not to mention that having heroes instead of henchies completely cheats out some later missions, where henchies are supposed to be temporarily vulnerable to certain attacks while heroes are completely invulnerable.

The same applies to Factions. Everything can be done perfectly well with just henchies, provided you use your head the tiniest bit and make a good selection out of all the available ones.

The only chapters that actually need heroes are Nightfall and EotN, but even there you must remember they were designed for a maximum of 3 heroes at any given time, so for example Dunkoro, Koss and Melonni are supposed to be all you need until way later in the storyline, and the same applies to Ogden, Vekk and Gwen for EotN. And later you were supposed to just replace the heroes, not add more.

The 7-hero teams are a very recent, completely gimmicky feature, mainly meant for allowing people to farm the crap out of high-end dungeons and Hard Mode so they can pimp out their Hall of Monuments. They are completely overkill everywhere else, and they WILL destroy any pleasure you may take from PvE if you abuse them. Not to mention mercenaries, which is overkill to the infinite power.

In ANet's defence, they're not forcing you to use these features. It's completely up to you: use henchies and play the game as it was designed, at least once; or take the easy way out, finish everything in a couple of weeks and then wonder where the joy of the game went.

Calista Blackblood · May 23, 2011, 02:57 PM // 14:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urcscumug

Don't get heroes for Prophecies. At least for your very first run through it.

And stop listening to people who tell you how to level up faster. They're basically telling you to throw away your game. You level up fast when you want to farm for money or a title or the Hall of Monuments and you need to skip the irrelevant parts of the game, NOT if it's your first time playing.

How you want to play and how someone else might want to aren't the same. I did not "tell" anyone to do it,I pointed out that the option existed.

Urcscumug · May 23, 2011, 04:00 PM // 16:00

Would you point out to a 10yr old that there's really nothing stopping them from getting into mom's car and driving it down the road?

It's not exactly fair to point out a seductive option to someone who doesn't know any better. You should at least mention the downsides as well, or outright tell them "don't do it" (and explain why not). IMHO when a beginner comes asking for advice from veteran players they have to weigh their advice responsibly.

Denim · May 23, 2011, 04:36 PM // 16:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urcscumug

Would you point out to a 10yr old that there's really nothing stopping them from getting into mom's car and driving it down the road?

...

No. But that wouldn't stop them.

Anet decides what a player is capable of doing (about every 3 months). We tell what the can do. Amen!

**cosyfiep** · May 23, 2011, 05:25 PM // 17:25

if you left pre at about level 6-8...by the time you get to Lion's Arch you will be around 12-14 (dependent on which quests you did, what other stuff you did along the way).
If you are a higher level than the henchman--you are good, if you are lower--I would suggest finding a few quests to level up a bit.
So let the henchmen be your guide to levels

Bristlebane · May 23, 2011, 05:44 PM // 17:44

Look at the level on henchmen in each outpost, it gives an indication of appropriate level. But nothing is set in stone so try it first, and if all fails you can try gain some level and rethink your strategy.

There's a small envy to those doing Prophecies for the first time, it's a great campaign to start with. But when people played for 6 years it's just not as fun anymore so they take a run to skip ahead.

Outerworld · May 23, 2011, 07:42 PM // 19:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urcscumug

Would you point out to a 10yr old that there's really nothing stopping them from getting into mom's car and driving it down the road?

It's not exactly fair to point out a seductive option to someone who doesn't know any better. You should at least mention the downsides as well, or outright tell them "don't do it" (and explain why not). IMHO when a beginner comes asking for advice from veteran players they have to weigh their advice responsibly.

Poor analogy; telling a 10yr that he could drive a car down the road would be both dangerous and irresponsible. For a game its entirely up to the individual how he wants to play it, and to do so he needs to know all the possible options with no one way that is actually "wrong".

chuckles79 · May 23, 2011, 09:01 PM // 21:01

As someone who got bogged down in the Diessa Lowlands with his prophecies ranger, let me offer some decent advice.

You have 3 options, all dependent on how you want to proceed. Option 1, get guildies to power you through the missions til you reach LA. Then go back and clean up quests for xp and skills after that.

Purchase a "run" to LA.

The only good reason to rush off to LA is to gain access to other campaigns sooner. A quick journey to the EotN (usually uneventful) can gain you a few heroes, but without many skills unlocked it wouldn't really be the same if you know what I mean (you must be lvl 10 to make the journey)

However, if you are playing the game through as the developers originally intended, and that sounds like what you are doing then:
Try to do Ft. Ranik, and maybe the Surmia missions. At lvl 9 you'll find Surmia challenging, but it will get you to Nolani.
At that point you can either recruit assistance or continue to quest/lvl grind a bit. At lvl 11 or so you'll be up for Nolani and that will take you to Yak's Bend. From there keep grinding quests for new skills and to lvl up. You should continue the quest chain once you feel like the Stone Summit is no longer death on a stick to you, then continue the missions.

Silmaneth · May 24, 2011, 09:07 AM // 09:07

Thanks for all the replies and advice!

I left pre-searing at level 8 and am now level 9 having done a few of the Old Ascalon quests and a couple through the breach and from Pilken Square, I haven't attempted any of the other missions yet as I've been busy questing, but I assume my armour is OK to continue (I'm wearing Charr Hide stuff I had crafted in Ascalon). I've got plenty more quests to do around here, I've completely missed out Sardelec Sanitarum up til now, then move on up the Missions.

I was really looking into getting Hero's as the henchman were driving me crazy with their random actions and continual scattering; however after a bit more playing I seem to be getting used to their actions and am anticipating their movements better. I think I'll carry on playing through the quests and missions as I go and reach Lions Arch when it happens.

Urcscumug · May 24, 2011, 11:54 AM // 11:54

The AI is roughly the same; don't expect heroes to be smarter than henchies. They're likely to be worse if you haven't played their professions and don't know what to put on their bars. The henchies are automatically preset to match the area in level and skill selection. Pick some of them and you're ready to go. With heroes it's nowhere near that simple.

Example: the Vizunah Square mission in Factions. I often see people who insist on using heroes and fail miserably. When using your head just a little for a good henchie selection will sail you through the mission without a problem.

Regarding henchman scatter, it's usually good and generally unavoidable. You want them to scatter to avoid AoE damage and you want non-melees to kite when attacked. As long as they still keep close to you at all times (and they do), it's ok.

(The only ones that significantly deviate from this are minion-master necros, who stop a lot to raise and buff and heal their minions and can trail behind if on the move. But, again, henchie necros are setup well enough not to take this the problem to the magnitude displayed by a hero like Olias with a custom bar.)

Give it a little more time, sounds like you're close to the breakthrough. At some point you get so used to the "flow" of the AI team around you that you start "wearing" them like a second skin. It's a smooth transition, I for one cannot pinpoint the moment it happened, I just realised one day I was doing it.

The Ascalon armor is perfectly fine until at least Yak's Bend, where you find the next higher crafter. This means all the quests in the zones around Old Ascalon and Diessa, plus missions up to and including Nolani. So's your current level.

You're doing great, keep exploring and doing secondary quests, it's one of the most rewarding ways of enjoying GW.

May 23, 2011, 10:43 AM // 10:43	#1
Silmaneth Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: May 2011	Recommended Character Level To Reach Lions Arch? Hi All, I'm just wondering what level people suggest my character should be before attempting the Missions required to reach Lions Arch? I'm currntly only at level 9 with my Warrior and am working my way through the Ascalon (post-searing) quests and have completed the initial mission, though I'd like to get to Lions Arch and travel to the other campaign settings to pick up a hero or two. Any advice and suggestions are appreciated, S.

May 23, 2011, 05:25 PM // 17:25	#13
cosyfiep are we there yet? Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: in a land far far away Guild: guild? I am supposed to have a guild? Profession: Rt/	if you left pre at about level 6-8...by the time you get to Lion's Arch you will be around 12-14 (dependent on which quests you did, what other stuff you did along the way). If you are a higher level than the henchman--you are good, if you are lower--I would suggest finding a few quests to level up a bit. So let the henchmen be your guide to levels __________________ where is the 'all you can eat' cookie bar?

May 23, 2011, 10:51 AM // 10:51	#2
ele kid Jungle Guide Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Netherlands Guild: [Lost] Profession: A/	If you want to enjoy the game, i'd recommend to simply follow the storyline. by doing the missions, you will eventually reach lions arch. If you want to speed things up, you can "pay" people for their services, so you will buy a run to LA. after that you can always ask a guildmember or officer to help you with the quest (sunspears in kryta) to go to kamadan. this will take no longer then 15mins. or you can level up till level 10 and get to eotn and get your heros there...

May 23, 2011, 10:55 AM // 10:55	#3
HigherMinion Forge Runner Join Date: May 2008 Location: East Anglia, UK Guild: Order of [Thay] Profession: N/	Whatever level you are when you reach there, doesn't matter too much. Unless you find you're dying far too much and already have the highest Armour Rating for your class. If I recall right, I think I was level 13 when I first got to Lion's Arch doing quests and missions properly.

May 23, 2011, 11:09 AM // 11:09	#4
Highlander Of Alba Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jan 2007 Guild: Real Rogue Clan Profession: Rt/Mo	Hi there, As you are 9 proberly you arrived at fort ranik and it said your armour is to low for this mission. This can confuse some a general guide is look at the Hench if they are the same level or lower than you then you can proceed . As previous poster has said you will be a decent level when you reach Lions Arch. You are wishing heros then as also said you have the 2 options either eye or to over to kamadden. You will get level 15 heros when you arrive in Kamadden and a few level 20s when you arrive in Eye. Be aware though that they only have a Basic build so you will have to obtain skills to upgrade them to a better skillbar. Pick up every quest along the way to Lions Arch as skills cost nothing by doing the simple quests. ( always pop back into Ascalon as quests appear there after a few missions also) Only thing i can add is Armour this is dependent on what funding you have so spend wisley get Max armour at 1k a peice or wait till you are at desert to collect Collectors max armour for obtaining items in desert. Enjoy playing through at least to Lions Arch to give you an insight into the game no need to rush there

May 23, 2011, 11:17 AM // 11:17	#5
majoho Forge Runner Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Denmark	I think you get to Yaks Bend at around 13 if you do all quests, so I would say around level 15. DO NOT LISTEN to people telling you to get a run or fancy stuff like that just play the game and enjoy it.

May 23, 2011, 11:18 AM // 11:18	#6
syronj Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Jun 2007	Also, I don't recommend going to Eye of the North until you're at least level 14 as I was. EotN is aimed more at level 20, though the expansion will treat you as a level 20 in some ways no matter what. If you have Factions and Nightfall, I would start characters in those games too.

May 23, 2011, 01:30 PM // 13:30	#7
Shayne Hawke Departed from Tyria Join Date: May 2007 Guild: Clan Dethryche [dth] Profession: R/	Same level or above of the henchmen in your area is where you should always be in Prophecies, and that should come at very little trouble. If you haven't already finished a campaign before, avoid the expansion content until later. Maybe you can jump into it momentarily to pick up Ogden and Vekk, but going much further would probably be a bad idea.

May 23, 2011, 02:43 PM // 14:43	#9
Urcscumug Krytan Explorer Join Date: Jan 2011 Guild: UNO Profession: W/	Don't get heroes for Prophecies. At least for your very first run through it. And stop listening to people who tell you how to level up faster. They're basically telling you to throw away your game. You level up fast when you want to farm for money or a title or the Hall of Monuments and you need to skip the irrelevant parts of the game, NOT if it's your first time playing. If you feel you absolutely must, and you have EotN, do the quest that takes you to Boreal Station and get Ogden. But other than Ogden to replace Alesia (and maybe Vekk instead of Orion, or as Ether Renewal healer), I wouldn't replace any henchies. And even Ogden will be worse than Alesia if you don't know what to put on his bar. If you get heroes you will completely lose any joy of playing Prophecies. All the biggest and baddest enemies you're supposed to meet are going to feel like a joke. And no, I don't mean some gimmicky team build off PvX, just simple sensible builds placed on heroes of max level are enough to steamroll through Prophecies in Normal Mode. Not to mention that having heroes instead of henchies completely cheats out some later missions, where henchies are supposed to be temporarily vulnerable to certain attacks while heroes are completely invulnerable. The same applies to Factions. Everything can be done perfectly well with just henchies, provided you use your head the tiniest bit and make a good selection out of all the available ones. The only chapters that actually need heroes are Nightfall and EotN, but even there you must remember they were designed for a maximum of 3 heroes at any given time, so for example Dunkoro, Koss and Melonni are supposed to be all you need until way later in the storyline, and the same applies to Ogden, Vekk and Gwen for EotN. And later you were supposed to just replace the heroes, not add more. The 7-hero teams are a very recent, completely gimmicky feature, mainly meant for allowing people to farm the crap out of high-end dungeons and Hard Mode so they can pimp out their Hall of Monuments. They are completely overkill everywhere else, and they WILL destroy any pleasure you may take from PvE if you abuse them. Not to mention mercenaries, which is overkill to the infinite power. In ANet's defence, they're not forcing you to use these features. It's completely up to you: use henchies and play the game as it was designed, at least once; or take the easy way out, finish everything in a couple of weeks and then wonder where the joy of the game went.

May 23, 2011, 04:00 PM // 16:00	#11
Urcscumug Krytan Explorer Join Date: Jan 2011 Guild: UNO Profession: W/	Would you point out to a 10yr old that there's really nothing stopping them from getting into mom's car and driving it down the road? It's not exactly fair to point out a seductive option to someone who doesn't know any better. You should at least mention the downsides as well, or outright tell them "don't do it" (and explain why not). IMHO when a beginner comes asking for advice from veteran players they have to weigh their advice responsibly.

May 23, 2011, 05:44 PM // 17:44	#14
Bristlebane Desert Nomad Join Date: Jan 2008 Profession: Mo/	Look at the level on henchmen in each outpost, it gives an indication of appropriate level. But nothing is set in stone so try it first, and if all fails you can try gain some level and rethink your strategy. There's a small envy to those doing Prophecies for the first time, it's a great campaign to start with. But when people played for 6 years it's just not as fun anymore so they take a run to skip ahead.

May 23, 2011, 09:01 PM // 21:01	#16
chuckles79 Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Mar 2009 Guild: FILA Profession: P/	As someone who got bogged down in the Diessa Lowlands with his prophecies ranger, let me offer some decent advice. You have 3 options, all dependent on how you want to proceed. Option 1, get guildies to power you through the missions til you reach LA. Then go back and clean up quests for xp and skills after that. Purchase a "run" to LA. The only good reason to rush off to LA is to gain access to other campaigns sooner. A quick journey to the EotN (usually uneventful) can gain you a few heroes, but without many skills unlocked it wouldn't really be the same if you know what I mean (you must be lvl 10 to make the journey) However, if you are playing the game through as the developers originally intended, and that sounds like what you are doing then: Try to do Ft. Ranik, and maybe the Surmia missions. At lvl 9 you'll find Surmia challenging, but it will get you to Nolani. At that point you can either recruit assistance or continue to quest/lvl grind a bit. At lvl 11 or so you'll be up for Nolani and that will take you to Yak's Bend. From there keep grinding quests for new skills and to lvl up. You should continue the quest chain once you feel like the Stone Summit is no longer death on a stick to you, then continue the missions.

May 24, 2011, 09:07 AM // 09:07	#17
Silmaneth Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: May 2011	Thanks for all the replies and advice! I left pre-searing at level 8 and am now level 9 having done a few of the Old Ascalon quests and a couple through the breach and from Pilken Square, I haven't attempted any of the other missions yet as I've been busy questing, but I assume my armour is OK to continue (I'm wearing Charr Hide stuff I had crafted in Ascalon). I've got plenty more quests to do around here, I've completely missed out Sardelec Sanitarum up til now, then move on up the Missions. I was really looking into getting Hero's as the henchman were driving me crazy with their random actions and continual scattering; however after a bit more playing I seem to be getting used to their actions and am anticipating their movements better. I think I'll carry on playing through the quests and missions as I go and reach Lions Arch when it happens.

May 24, 2011, 11:54 AM // 11:54	#18
Urcscumug Krytan Explorer Join Date: Jan 2011 Guild: UNO Profession: W/	The AI is roughly the same; don't expect heroes to be smarter than henchies. They're likely to be worse if you haven't played their professions and don't know what to put on their bars. The henchies are automatically preset to match the area in level and skill selection. Pick some of them and you're ready to go. With heroes it's nowhere near that simple. Example: the Vizunah Square mission in Factions. I often see people who insist on using heroes and fail miserably. When using your head just a little for a good henchie selection will sail you through the mission without a problem. Regarding henchman scatter, it's usually good and generally unavoidable. You want them to scatter to avoid AoE damage and you want non-melees to kite when attacked. As long as they still keep close to you at all times (and they do), it's ok. (The only ones that significantly deviate from this are minion-master necros, who stop a lot to raise and buff and heal their minions and can trail behind if on the move. But, again, henchie necros are setup well enough not to take this the problem to the magnitude displayed by a hero like Olias with a custom bar.) Give it a little more time, sounds like you're close to the breakthrough. At some point you get so used to the "flow" of the AI team around you that you start "wearing" them like a second skin. It's a smooth transition, I for one cannot pinpoint the moment it happened, I just realised one day I was doing it. The Ascalon armor is perfectly fine until at least Yak's Bend, where you find the next higher crafter. This means all the quests in the zones around Old Ascalon and Diessa, plus missions up to and including Nolani. So's your current level. You're doing great, keep exploring and doing secondary quests, it's one of the most rewarding ways of enjoying GW.