Curse

The IOU · May 17, 2005, 03:35 PM // 15:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manderlock

I beat it in one go, and Im no "uber elite gaming god"

You dont need to be a god to beat the river in one go, you just need to exersize common sence.

Patience also....lol

Thraxus · May 17, 2005, 04:20 PM // 16:20

An activity which is hard for you to succeed at and results in your failure is not grind. Grind is killing a million rats because you need their bones to make a sword of X, or somesuch. Grind is an activity at which you cannot fail but you must complete thousands of times to achieve results.

Personally I would like to see missions included that were so hard that groups who completed them would be spoken of in hushed tones. In the expansions I hope we see quests and monsters so hard that they up the maximum party size to say 16 to give you a chance of victory.

Phaedrus · May 17, 2005, 04:55 PM // 16:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romac

The thing that ruined ascension for me, and caused so much frustration, is the fact that all the ascension missions act like a bottleneck for dimwits. And it can be very hard to find a decent group in a sea of tards. I bet the average player IQ goes up considerably post-ascension.

Tragically, no. At least one bad player gets through on the coattails of every successful group. These players go back to help their friends now that they have 1337 strategies to r0xx0r j00. I'm glad I'm done with missions, there's nothing more frustrating than being guildless and at the complete mercy of the pick-up group.

[ ]

Maker · May 17, 2005, 05:11 PM // 17:11

You just need to put together the right group. As said above, one bad gamer = wipe. I made it through all ascension quests in 2 - 4 tries. The fails were typically due to uncoordinated groups with careless players. Once I found a group a mature and attentive players the quests were as easy as possible.

anarchism · May 17, 2005, 05:20 PM // 17:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romac

here's how Thirsty River most commonly works IF and only IF you have a consistent team or henchmen...if you are constantly changing team mates then it probably takes longer:

Attempt # 1: 20 minutes to kill sand giants and attempt 1st team...start over
Attempt # 2: 20 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 2nd team...start over
Attempt # 3: 25 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 2nd team...start over
Attempt # 4: 25 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 3rd team...start over
Attempt # 5: 30 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 3rd team...start over
Attempt # 6: 35 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 4th team...start over
Attempt # 7: 30 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 3rd team...start over
Attempt # 8: 35 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 4th team...start over
Attempt # 9: 35 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 5th team...start over
Attempt #10: 40 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 4th team...start over
Attempt #11: 40 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 5th team...start over
Attempt #12: 40 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 5th team...start over
Attempt #13: 45 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 6th team...start over
Attempt #14: 45 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 5th team...start over
Attempt #15: 45 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 5th team...start over
Attempt #16: 45 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 6th team...start over
Attempt #17: 45 minutes to kill everything up to attempt on 6th team...success

Total GRIND: 10 hours, and that's a pretty conservative estimate IMO...you will find accounts of people spending a whole week at thirsty river.

Elona's Reach was a similar experience for me...took one full 8 hour saturday for me, and another 2 hours the next day.

Some may think this is a challenge...well it's not...it's a grind. Put in your 10 hours at each of the 3 missions for ascension and another 10 hours for the final test, and you will ascend. The first time you successfully defeat a team at thirsty river is a challenge...having to re-defeat the same teams over, and over, and over, and over is not challenging...mindless repetition = grind. Ascension does not = challenge...ascension = 40 hours.

Everything up to ascension was fun, then we get hid in the head with a boorrring, frustrating grind.

Oh well i guess i got what i needed out of my RP toon...i guess i'll just ditch that toon and make a pvp toon. i have 30 hours of ascension left, and my spare time is waaaay too valuable to waste it on such an incredibly boring, and frustrating GRIND.

no offence but ur teams sucked river its not that hard.. wait till u get to the shiverpeaks and get to kill the mussarts(spelling)

leviathan · May 18, 2005, 07:28 AM // 07:28

Its not a grind, you just need to plan out a good team, and make sure you have no tards. Take it slow, i did all in 2 tries except elona which was like 5 cause i kept going with stupid teams.

Makkert · May 18, 2005, 12:01 PM // 12:01

Dunes - easy like most of you. this mission you surely get in a few tries
Elona's - the hardest of three imho. it took me i think 5 tries with various teams. it's important not to rush yourself, and take some time for everyone to heal/ be prepared. coordination of attacks as always is vital

thirsty - first two tries horrible. the third was reasonable, got down on 4th or 5th team.
the fourth time i got someone in my team with the golden tip:
before moving to the next team, wait till the timer hits a multitude of 2.00 mins. If you don't do this, you probably will get backstabbed half way fighting to the priest because of the ressurrection. When we made sure we got the full 2 mins this way of killing the priest, we made it fairly easy. took 1.20 at least of killing roaming critters, then rushed the priest, and then didn't have to worry about the res. After that the boss and any leftover enemies.
If you play it this way, thirsty is not that hard. its all timing.

Imorine · May 18, 2005, 01:26 PM // 13:26

There is a reason this is called "Ascension". Its not supposed to be easy. if you are not good enough to do it on the first try then u have to keep at it until you are. Think the next areas are any easier? these 3 areas are ment to teach you to deal with hordes of mobs, work as a team, and work on your own. even if you somehow manage to fluke it and get a good team the mirror you fight will stop you again. after that the next mission is madness unless you can deal with more mobs then you fought at river at once.

btw beat river easily get an elementalist to meteor shower the boss. he cant heal he dies fast.

Sadye X · May 18, 2005, 05:01 PM // 17:01

I won't comment on how easy / not easy these 3 missions are, but rather just point out what they achieve in the life of your character ~ consider it looking at them from a different perspective

Once you Ascend you literally find yourself at the gateway to the Tombs. Were you starting out on a pvp character, this is where you'd likely start out, only without the skill set of an rp character.

These missions are of the level of difficulty they are for a very simple other reason as well ~~ mainly you have to learn more solid teamwork than you'd had to previously .. without it these missions are indeed simply alot of work to get through.

Even looking at the example of Thirsty River ~ if you've been in Tombs at all, you'll instantly recognize the similarity of this mission to a couple of the events there ... aka taking down teams of various set-ups who have a priest who will res the group every 2 minutes, and you have to be the last team standing to go on to the next round. If you're teamed with people who struggle through what it takes to get through TR, then there's every chance that once in Tombs, they'll not last long there either.

Always keep in mind that the main focus of GW is the endgame ~ which is a very competitive pvp world. There's various different ways to get there, but the more you focus on building skill as both an individual and working with a team, the better you'll do once you're there.

Mimu · May 18, 2005, 05:11 PM // 17:11

Before I begin, I would like to point out that I am currently working on the ascension missions. (although I have just taken a long break to do some of the older quests and exploration..I will not be rushed.

)

It seems that every time you cannot finish a mission or quest within a few tries, you come onto this forum and complain that it is 'grind'.

These missions are difficult, not grind..there is a big difference.

I do not mean to flame, but I am so sick of people complaining about the non-existant grind in Guild Wars.

Just rework your attributes and skills, adapt to fit the situation..then try and get some guildmates to join you.

(If you cannot find anyone willing to spend a couple of hours helping you, a switch of guilds may be a good idea methinks.

)

Chev of Hardass · May 18, 2005, 05:47 PM // 17:47

My guild and I, have done thiese missions so many times (to help guildmates through them), we finish them without thinking. There is a system to everything. Once you figure out that system, these missions are cakewalk.

Maybe Mimu is right. You may need a new guild. Or, a, guild. The first few times through these missions it was with pick up groups, then guild members. The times with guild members, esp with teamspeak, were exponentially more sucessful.

shinseikaze · May 20, 2005, 01:13 AM // 01:13

you can achieve anything with the right group of players and a mixture of classes

Theneler · May 20, 2005, 02:44 AM // 02:44

I did Thirsty River the first try, and we were only 30 seconds off of getting the bonus.

Bu7ch · May 20, 2005, 01:45 PM // 13:45

Last night I thought I'd give Elona's Reach a shot...after just two tries we figured out the best way to finish it and completed the mission with 12 minutes left if I remember correctly...The other missions I finished on the first try. I think you're mileage is going to vary based on who goes with you. For Elona's Reach we had 4 people who had tried it before but never completed it but they were all great team players. For Dunes and Thirsty River I grouped with one guy who'd completed it, two other guys, myself and two henchmen and we thought the walk to the missions were ten times harder than the missions themselves.

sybban · May 20, 2005, 02:47 PM // 14:47

No offense but these missions were easy, maybe you should get a strategy. Thirsty river took me two tries when i came back in with a strategy and had 2 people missing because they gave up. Elonas reach first try, just don't get aggro. Dunes first try, kill the worms and the generals don't come out.