Curse

Trenchsoul · May 20, 2005, 05:28 AM // 05:28

Am I so wrong to believe this? I've heard the desert where the ascension quests take place referred to as "the sandtrap for idiots." I have witnessed dialogs between players in Augury Rock about being stuck for five or more days and not having gotten to even one mission area. I've suffered through parties that couldn't figure out how to kill more than one hydra at a time. Maybe it was just luck, but from what I've seen, it truely is the idiot sandtrap.

If you can't make it through ascension, you definately don't belong in the Temple of Ages dungeons. If I could tell, I wouldn't party anyone who hadn't beaten the game either (even though it is a disappoiting waste of time.) Then I'm gaurenteed that you're at least semi-competent. So when I'm standing around in the Temple of Ages, and I refuse to party anyone under level 20, am I being elitist or realistic?

Sekkira · May 20, 2005, 05:43 AM // 05:43

Realistic. I've been to the temple of ages on the way to the galrath quest and noticed all the really high levels there. I was amazed we actually got a few more on our party to go do it. But I'm not touching the area until I've ascended mainly because hearing about how hard it is, I need to build up my skill.

Luphrecio · May 20, 2005, 06:11 AM // 06:11

you are correct sir, the sheer difficulty of the temple of ages is DESINGED for those who have ascended. . .infused. . bneat the game whatever ( I think beat the game personally since the dungoens there are reall really hard) . . . . . .The dungeons are MEANT for good teams that are on teamspeak, ventrillo, or some kind of voice chat medium, comminication is key. Experience, the ability to follow comands and be in a team without bickering, the ability to pay attention when someone tells you not to talk to/take the quest from the lost soul/npc/whatever when you first enter the underworld/fissure untill you are specifically told. to. . .oh did i meantion following directions.. . .etc. .which brings me to another point, these quests are really designed for guilds who have already beaten the game and are looking for a challenge with intereting rewards, since guilds are more able to make better parties among themselves than going into a pug, and getting pwned by lvl 29-31 monsters because someone decides to rush foward without letting the monks regain energy, or complaining at the monk for not reviving or not having revive when revving is NOT THEIR JOB. . .they need to heal and the SECONDARY MONK CLASSES should be reviving people, so that the primary monks can keep the healing on the ones who are a live and not have to waste energy on the dead, and not have enough energy to heal hose who need it resulting in more and more deaths, the ability to have the revving monks run away from aggroing monsters when the need arises and be able to REBIRTH their fallen primary monks in that situation, the ability to NOT CHOOSE ANOTHER QUEST IN THE MIDDLE OF FINISHING AN UNDERWORLD QUEST! the ability just not to be noobs, it is a challenge not a 4 year olds McDonald's Playplaceto be succesful you need experience, and good teamwork. . . .and prefably a guild althoguh you may get lucky and get a kickass pug which would be cool. . . and if you are lucky enough to get one make sure you freind all of them so you guys could get together and to the quests again

so yes, without the expeirnce of at least getting infused (prefably beating the game), having a guild, or good team on a voice chat medium, and the ablilty to follow orders. . . .you probably wont survive long in the uw. . . . GOOD LUCK!!!

. . . .THis monk shortage neeeds to come to an end. . . . .

ANything else I'm missing about what needs to happen to be a ble to suceed in uw/fissure?

SnyperP · May 20, 2005, 06:23 AM // 06:23

Definitely, some pug groups can pull it together and do much clear alot of content in the underworld. One thing i keep hearing over and over is how important ventrillo or teamspeak is. I have it on my computer, but i have never used it. The group that I have going into underworld on nearly a daily basis for awhile now does not use it all it. Generally you pick up on things visually as we go. I guess it's also important to understand what to do or what not to do. Designate one leader who moves the groups from place to place or even pulls. Things as simple as collaborating and organizing spells to know what eachother is bringing, doing or what gaps in the equation need to be filled help the group move much smoother and more efficently.

On a bit of good new we finally finished that bloody statue quest... Longest...quest...ever...

Luphrecio · May 20, 2005, 06:48 AM // 06:48

it is possiblewith a pug but very rare to find a good one, I was with a very good pug and we almost beat the statue quest as well. . but someone who wanst on teamsepak talked to one of the statue ghosts and accepted a quest. . . . .needless to say the monsters that sapwned from that killed the things we needed to protect form the quest we were in -_- teamspeak/voice chat clients just make it a lot easier to communicate so thigns like that dont happen thats about it. . .i gotta go,. . .work tommorow. . .8 am Zzzzzzz

Lews · May 20, 2005, 06:53 AM // 06:53

I made a monk just because I was tired of there not being any monks, I wanted to be picked in parites, and when there are monks, they suck!

But I can't get past my Mirror Self now. I never attack, I just heal!

Using retrbituion, divine boom, and healing breeze. I get him to 90% then I die. I have 470 health. =(

laynlow · May 23, 2005, 06:03 PM // 18:03

I'll tell you, I have been very frustrated trying to find a good group to finish Thirsty River. I consider myself to be a fairly competent player, and I am tired of people dropping out of groups or taking one stab at the mission and then leaving the group when we were so close. I am so frustrated with the river that I just walked away. I am frustrated with the lack of monks also, so I created a new character that is going to be strictly a healer monk and I am building him up. I am actually looking forward to helping teams as a monk in the future.

I really wish I could just get my Elementalist ascended. That has been my main goal for awhile. I guess eventually I will find the right group.

Rahne Sinclaire · May 23, 2005, 06:15 PM // 18:15

Well, I wouldn't enter any of these areas with a person under level 20... however, every group I've been in has been a PUG and, for the most part, all of them have failed miserably.
Me and my boyfriend did, however, get one very nice PUG that was able to clear the Arena area in Underworld, along with a large area around it.
I don't think Ascension (sp?) proves skill, though. And I certainly don't think beating the game proves skill. Granted, they're both tough tasks, but one could probably find a team of a bunch of competent players while they, themselves, are incompetent. Then they could just be run through and beat it with little work on their part.
Meanwhile, you could have a level 20 person who is -quite- competent stuck at Ascension. Maybe they've just had a streak of bad luck, or don't have enough time to try the missions a whole lot.
I really don't know why I bothered to type all that.
I guess the most cliche way I can put it is... don't judge a book by its cover?

Synthos · May 23, 2005, 06:26 PM // 18:26

Yeah you need to be ascended and have your armor infused to have any chance of survivablity down there.. Thats just the truth, So its not wrong to not take people under 20. You can walk to temple of ages from lions arch, and the first time i entered the underworld is by myself at level 14 lmao.. I was like "whats this"? Oooh i better wait till im 20.

Zilm · May 23, 2005, 06:52 PM // 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lews

I made a monk just because I was tired of there not being any monks, I wanted to be picked in parites, and when there are monks, they suck!

But I can't get past my Mirror Self now. I never attack, I just heal!

Using retrbituion, divine boom, and healing breeze. I get him to 90% then I die. I have 470 health. =(

I'm a monk. I've Ascended, and only took 15 minutes to figure out the right spell combination. Never attack... =O

Looks like you're the monk your talking about! XD!

LOL!

sybban · May 23, 2005, 06:57 PM // 18:57

Why not when you are bored go help out the people there and instruct people on strategies. I'm on my 3rd charcter through it and I offer to be a guide sometimes. Before we leave I tell everyone what skills they will need and when to use them. A lot of people don't use the skills they need to complete the missions, Before each fight I discuss the what is about to happen and who needs to do what. Hopefully these people go on to be more strategical in combat instead of just hack and slash.

Phauran · May 23, 2005, 07:31 PM // 19:31

i just henchman it, the only quest i had a grp for was thirsty river, i just finished the thunderkeep one, and i find henchman to be the easiest, so try it some time, works for some, doesnt for others

Phantom Force · May 23, 2005, 07:54 PM // 19:54

Well I agree there is a great degree of skill in the game. Knowing what is what, what not to do, when to do things, etc. However I'm going to play devil's advocate by saying some of the earlier comments are all elitists ideas. You can be a different type of elitist though. Personally I haven't done ascension, I'm close but have not taken the time. I've done most other quests, tried different characters and still don't know everything but when I do know more than others I explain what, where, when, how, why. Everyone complains that people don't know much or are incompetent, but fact of the matter everyone was that way at one point. Many times people are still learning or finding out what to do for the first time. It's one thing if you're a stupid moron who has done the quest before or knows what to do and screw it up. It's another thing when it's someone’s first or second time. If you are the so called elitist maybe you should take the role of leader and step up. Okay please listen this is what we really need to do or else this could happen...... Don't get your panties in a bunch because people are new, explain to them. I hate when morons think they know it all then whine because someone is doing something for the first time and makes a mistake. I'm not saying party with a level 18 who doesn't have armor or spells they need, but for those who are ready and still don't know what to do it's your job to help them. Otherwise blame yourself for not getting involved and stepping up. Instead of being a useless elitist who thinks they know it all and doesn't do anythign to help, be useful to your group and if you are elitist and know what to do step up.

Scturi · May 23, 2005, 08:07 PM // 20:07

YES! thank you!

The desert is the idiot trap.

I have a couple Guild mates that were having problems with pugs on Elona's and Thirsty so I said I would come help them out. When I did these missions I had solid players in my pugs and did not prove to be a problem getting trough it.

Well I think the idiots are stacking now... it was very hard to find a group that could hit the broadside of a barn if you pointed them at it.

As a guide for them they keep telling me I didn't know what I was doing and would Leave mid mission or Warrior rush every creature in the map aggroing several groups at a time, then proceeding to yell at healer for not "doing there job"

Here are a few quotes I heard yesterday guideing groups on Thirsty River (by people that have tried it at 5 times already)

player - "Why are you Killing the Giants? The objective is this way!"
me - "To get the party a moral boost."
player - "Why would we want a moral boost?"
*player runs off and gets squashed*

me - "Now wait to attack this next group until the timer reaches 2 minutes"
player - "NOOO! n00b! Kill them now!!"
*Me and my buddy watch from a distance as he kills 2 of them then the timer hits 2 minutes. He gets bum rushed by 7 respawned Forgotten. Dies a painfull death.*
player - "You guys suck! Bleep Bleep Bleep @#%&!!"
*player leaves party*

and my favorite:
Player - "Why the Hell do you keep attacking the priests!?!"

laynlow · May 23, 2005, 08:22 PM // 20:22

Scturi, I would love to find a competent group with you as a guide! Hopefully it will happen soon.

Rothgar · May 23, 2005, 08:33 PM // 20:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnyperP

On a bit of good new we finally finished that bloody statue quest... Longest...quest...ever...

Yes, I'm finding the quest is seriously long. Question: Have you found a "best" way to get past the Dream Riders? Kill them and kill the spawns? I've been thing something like edge of extintion for them, or avoiding them entirely. However, if you avoid them how do you keep the Lord safe when you kill the terror webs?

Zilm · May 23, 2005, 08:34 PM // 20:34

And i have to add this.

Remember Althea's Ashes? That was the first time the game made it clear you can't rush the map, take 'em one group at a time.

Amazing how quickly they forget!

Holoman · May 23, 2005, 08:45 PM // 20:45

I guess I was very lucky in desert with the three ascention missions.
It took me two tries to get pass Elona with the same group, and one try each to get pass Dunes and Thirsty River. Woot!!!
I'm a monk and I didn't even shout LFG and I was invited into these PUG's, and luckily they were all good groups that had players that knew what they were doing.We would always discuss strategies before starting and during the mission, and we had people that listened which was very important for success in PUG's.
I'm glad that I didn't have to face all the difficulties that many other players faced with these missions.

sybban · May 23, 2005, 08:57 PM // 20:57

I'm personally getting tired of the attacks against players in the ascension missions. These are the most vital missions in the game to learn strategic planning. If you don't help people then you are no better. However I will agree that I also give up on a group the minute I here 1337 speak or noob bashing, those people don't deserve help. I don't care what you say, they need to unplug their computer. A "newbie" is someone who is new and willing to learn the inner workings of the game. The 1337 newb thinks he knows everything about the game and will bash everyone until there is no one left to group with him, or until some soul comes along and babysits him through it so he go on to bug people in other areas.

Teach them or don't go there.

Anariel · May 23, 2005, 09:01 PM // 21:01

I'm a monk and my bf is a warrior/monk. We made it through the ascension quests quickly though not effortlessly and painlessly. The elona reach mission was 3 or 4 runs when most missions we've done were in just 1 run. I think that many people forget some important things in Guild Wars beyond just brute force. Bring at least 2 dedicated player monks, wait after fights for energy to regenerate, and focus on soft targets first. Most importantly, use strategy and follow the leader!

Too often I have seen teams fall apart when everyone runs off doing their own thing. The easiest mission becomes difficult when there are people on the team that insist on being pricks. I've gone back and helped people in my guild with crystal desert/south shiverpeaks, and almost invariably there will be some idiot who won't listen to directions or leave after just one single harmless comment like "Can you wait for the team please?" In any case, don't piss off your monk, because you will regret it. :P