Curse

cerb · Jan 06, 2006, 12:08 AM // 00:08

Updated!
( Entirely re-written, added many images and Underworld info )

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/content...onk-id1626.php

Leave feedback in this thread, thank you!

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Update (Day before Easter!!)

I have recorded a run where I complete the Smite run and the Ice King quest (Which is very rewarding), you can find the download link at the bottom of this very post.

Ice King Walkthrough

In order to be able to complete this quest, you must do the "Clear the Chamber" quest and take the "Restore the Monuments of Grenth" quest given by the reaper summoned in that room. Make your way through the smites, clear the necessary Coldfires (as shown in the video), and kill the three dryders at the end of the smite run, which will summon the Reaper of the Ice Wastes.

You (the monk) will want to position yourself in a way where you can aggro the dryders as they spawn (see in the video) and never, ever lose their aggro, otherwise they will divide: a group will head for the Ice King while the other will head for the reaper. If either dies, your run is over.

So position yourself, have the necro stay at the reaper. The quest works like this: three groups of dryders will spawn at different intervals. The first group will spawn at 0:00, the second will spawn at 0:30, and the third will spawn at 1:30. Usually, your necro would take the quest, drop a few SS's and run away, and you'd have to dodge meteor showers for about 10 seconds (since Spellbreaker wouldn't be recharged as the second group of dryders spawn). However, I've thought of a much easier & safer way to do this quest.

You'll want to call SB when you are ready (Cast PS too). About 12s later, have your necro take the quest, this will spawn the first wave of dryders. The necro will come and cast SS's, and by the time the second wave of dryders spawn, your Spellbreaker will be ready again, therefore you won't have to dodge any meteor showers. All you will have to do is stand still, and tank. Bonetti's will help you a lot here, even if it doesn't give energy for each block (ranged attacks). Now you might wonder why I didn't wait 12s in the video, well that's because I got a fast recharge for SB from my Fiery Flame Spitter and we were on Ventrilo, so I just told him to take the quest.

As for the third group, you do not want to use your third SB until you see it spawn, because if you do so and your third SB runs out before the third group spawns, you're dead

Just try to keep PS on your necro when he's in range (the dryders's Fireballs hit for 150 and above) and you'll be fine. Watch the video!

UW 2-Man run video (includes the Ice King quest): http://www.filefactory.com/?5bae03

Julie Skyy · Jan 06, 2006, 01:27 AM // 01:27

I've been really interested in one of these for farming lately and I still have a HoD sword, even... The only thing is I'm concerned I won't play them right, I mean, for instance you have to maintain what 6-7 different things at a time going on? If one of them goes off and you don't realize it are you screwed?

Is there any other place safe to farm without fear of interrupted skills from monsters?

cerb · Jan 06, 2006, 01:58 AM // 01:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julie Skyy

I've been really interested in one of these for farming lately and I still have a HoD sword, even... The only thing is I'm concerned I won't play them right, I mean, for instance you have to maintain what 6-7 different things at a time going on? If one of them goes off and you don't realize it are you screwed?

Is there any other place safe to farm without fear of interrupted skills from monsters?

To answer your first question: You don't have to worry about enchantments you are maintaining (Mending, Balthazar's Spirit, etc.), but only those that last a certain amount of time (Prot. Spirit)

It's really easy, you just look at the top left corner of your screen and if the icon is blinking, you just recast it.. I don't really see what's so hard

If Breeze goes off, you'll notice it right away in your HP regen, you can just cast it and you'll be fine. Protective Spirit must not go off though, but if you recast it when it's blinking, you'll be fine.

If you want a tip, I like to place the enchantments I am maintaining last in the skill bar and the most important ones first (Just look at the pictures)

And your second question: Probably, but the question is.. is it worth it?

Turbo Wombat · Jan 06, 2006, 02:21 AM // 02:21

The place she shows is probably the safest as far as interrupts go. If you're really worried about being interrupted, you can either:

A - Use a mesmer with fastcasting to reduce the probability of getting screwed (my stats are usually 9 fastcast, 10 prot, 10 smite, 10 heal)
or
B - Use a throw-away skill or two to get interrupted before you cast someting important (I.E. recast mending/essence bond/balth's spirit as a decoy)

While you do need to keep a certian amount of enchantments up, only 2 need to be recast (healing breeze/ prot spirit) and only 1 is truly important to your survival (prot spirit).

A few other tips for you in no particular order:
-Recast prot spirit as soon as it begins to fade (If it dies, so will you)
-If down to only 1 or 2 mobs, don't worry about healing breeze... mending will keep you topped up and breeze will just drain your energy at this point.
-Learn to expect when enchantments burn out so you won't do a long cast like arcane echo or spiteful spirit just as your spirit and breeze start to fade (Oh t3h nos!)
-Don't cast spell one after another (chain-cast) leave a second or two inbetween, otherwise it will lead to your downfall.
-Don't be affraid to recast prot spirit.. with a nice 1/4 second cast time the chance of it being interrupted by anything other than a total fluke is next to nill.
-Possibly bring another heal along for emergencies... I've had orison save my butt after breeze has been interrupted.
-Put up prot spirit if you're running through an area where you think there may be traps (damn devourers) and cast breeze ASAP if it's a flame trap
-If breeze goes down in a large group, don't worry TOO much... you still have a few seconds before oblivion
-Don't pull 3 groups of griffons and a horde of minotaurs (even by accident), You're not THAT invincible.

I died a bit while I was learning to solo farm, but I can pretty much keep that to a minimum now, unless I'm soloing underworld for kicks

(though the occational glob of ecto is a nice little bonus)

P.S. - don't solo underworld unless you are either a godly player with amazing reflexes or just bored out of your mind... it's a goldsink

cerb · Jan 06, 2006, 02:58 AM // 02:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Wombat

B - Use a throw-away skill or two to get interrupted before you cast someting important (I.E. recast mending/essence bond/balth's spirit as a decoy)

I was going to mention that, but usually in desert, rockshots following you come in pair, so you'd need to throw away two skills, and they won't always interrupt, which leads you to throwing another skill, and don't forget that Distracting Shot recharges in 10 seconds, so it complicates things a lot, so I just figured I'd better off suggest my readers to just run (this section of my guide is for beginners, after all

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Wombat

-Learn to expect when enchantments burn out so you won't do a long cast like arcane echo or spiteful spirit just as your spirit and breeze start to fade (Oh t3h nos!)

Yeah, logic

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Wombat

-Don't cast spell one after another (chain-cast) leave a second or two inbetween, otherwise it will lead to your downfall.

I don't quite understand what you mean here.. but if you're referring to me suggesting Zealot's Fire a lot for griffon farming, that's right, hence why I suggested not to trigger it too often in the Warning section

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Wombat

-Possibly bring another heal along for emergencies... I've had orison save my butt after breeze has been interrupted.

I don't think that's such a good idea, unless there's a skill you really don't mind to leave out. Especially in the desert, nothing will interrupt you but Rockshot Devourers, and you won't be fighting them !

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Wombat

-Put up prot spirit if you're running through an area where you think there may be traps (damn devourers) and cast breeze ASAP if it's a flame trap

Yeah, you don't need a Breeze with the 55 hp build though, you'll go down to about 30 hp before going back into regen, but if you're running a 8hp build, you're dead!
[/QUOTE]

I'm going to update my guide tomorrow and I'll add a lot more, especially what to do when you're in trouble, and how to think, etc. Thanks for your input Turbo Wombat

sno · Jan 06, 2006, 04:13 AM // 04:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by drunkcow

Is it possible to solo farm without being a 55hp (or anything thing decreasing health) monk?
It just seems like cheating the game to me.

Yes, warriors have been soloing things since the start of the game :-p. Necros are also great solo players, as with a good blood build and a lot of skill, you can effectively survive mostly anything by yourself

Life steal ftw.

cerb · Jan 06, 2006, 04:24 AM // 04:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by drunkcow

Is it possible to solo farm without being a 55hp (or anything thing decreasing health) monk?
It just seems like cheating the game to me.

Yes it is, like Sno said. If you used Live Vicariously and Vigorous Spirit with Cyclone Axe, you could stay alive. But since warriors have higher armor, they perform best with it. The 55 hp solo monk is the equivalent to a Live Vicariously/Vigorous Spirit/Cyclone Axe warrior

And no, it's not cheating the game, it's intended. Protective Spirit wouldn't be as useful then. And if it was cheating the game, it would of completely been nerfed already

Turbo Wombat · Jan 06, 2006, 04:51 AM // 04:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by cerb

I don't quite understand what you mean here.. but if you're referring to me suggesting Zealot's Fire a lot for griffon farming, that's right, hence why I suggested not to trigger it too often in the Warning section

By chain-casting, I mean doing stuff like casting SoJ right after breeze or really any other combo of spells that you can queue one right after the other. I say this because there have been many times in the past when a Distracting Shot missed the first spell it was aiming for and hit the one directly after. In my experience it's good to leave a 1-2 second gap between casts if you can afford it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cerb

I don't think that's such a good idea, unless there's a skill you really don't mind to leave out. Especially in the desert, nothing will interrupt you but Rockshot Devourers, and you won't be fighting them !

I typically don't bring Zealot's Fire because I like things staying close to me and not wasting the timers of my damage spells. Also, I have the tendancy to be a little over-zealous when aggroing things from time to time so Orison is a good skill for me. My solo builds go like this:

Mesmer / Monk

Skills:
Protective Spirit
Healing Breeze
Orison of Healing
Arcane Echo
Shield of Judgement {E}
Essence Bond
Mending
Balthazar's Spirit

Attributes:
Fast Cast 8 (4+Mask+Sup Rune) Minimizes Interuption on everything except AE
Healing 9
Smite 11
Prot 10

or

Necromancer / Monk

Skills:
Protective Spirit
Healing Breeze
Orison of Healing
Awaken the Blood
Spiteful Spirit {E}
Essence Bond
Mending
Balthazar's Spirit

Attributes:
Blood 6 (3+Sup Rune)
Soul Reaping 4 (1+Sup Rune)
Curses 16 (12+Scar+Sup Rune)
Healing 9
Prot 9

Sorry if it seems like I've hijacked your thread to some extent. I'm just throwing out the little tidbits I've learned as I've gone along. Your first post was much more well organized, more pretty and user friendly than mine have been in my opinion.

cerb · Jan 06, 2006, 04:54 AM // 04:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Wombat

Sorry if it seems like I've hijacked your thread to some extent. I'm just throwing out the little tidbits I've learned as I've gone along. Your first post was much more well organized, more pretty and user friendly than mine have been in my opinion.

Meh.. it could be even better if there were not all these restrictions (can't change font color, can't change font size, can't use more than 4 images... smileys included) but thanks : )

Draco · Jan 07, 2006, 01:53 AM // 01:53

Very nicely put, thanks!!

Tsunami Rain · Jan 07, 2006, 04:46 AM // 04:46

can we pin this?

sno · Jan 07, 2006, 05:07 AM // 05:07

if we got the first 2 replies to delete their posts, cerb could edit his, and have all of his guide on the first page... can you guys do that?

Alberic · Jan 07, 2006, 08:31 AM // 08:31

Very enlightening. Thanks a bunch!

gsk_spurs · Jan 07, 2006, 03:46 PM // 15:46

iv been using a 8hp monk to farm these griffons, im a Mo/Me but i never use any of the Mesmer skills,

Heres my skills --> Protective Spirit, Healing Breeze, Symbol of Wrath, Balthazar's aura, Zealot's Fire, Mending, Balthazar's Spirit, Blessed Aura

Instead of arcane echo i have +18% enchant duriation on my weapons and +32% enchant duration with Blessed Aura to make my enchants 50% longer!

As i dont use any Mesmer skills think i should change my secondary proffession, what to?

i was thinking:
Warrior, for charge and brotties defence
Elementalist, for more AoE damage with stuff like inferno and no damage when running with Mist form and quicker speed with Armor of Mist
Necromancer for loads of kool stuff

also, im finding the griffons easy to kill but my biggest problem is them running away whenever i use AoE, i was considering getting Sheild of Judgment to counter this....

Lianna · Jan 07, 2006, 04:20 PM // 16:20

Nice guide

Tip: Another good place to solo quickly are Minotaurs at Elona. You get 25xp less for each kill compaired to a Griffon but you can get more kills/hour.

X Apocrathe X · Jan 08, 2006, 05:17 PM // 17:17

firstly great guide ive had real trouble getting started in pre sear trying to decide what second profession to have and this sorta cleared things up so i just need to decide between a Mo/Me or a Mo/Wa , could any one reply to which they think is best , and secondly is it possible to lower your health even more and if so would it help having such a low hp

Dwimmerlaik · Jan 09, 2006, 12:22 AM // 00:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by X Apocrathe X

firstly great guide ive had real trouble getting started in pre sear trying to decide what second profession to have and this sorta cleared things up so i just need to decide between a Mo/Me or a Mo/Wa , could any one reply to which they think is best , and secondly is it possible to lower your health even more and if so would it help having such a low hp

FYI, you can do quests after Ascension to change your subclass on the fly. For levelling purposes, Mo/Me may be best due to your healing abilities. You can always lower your HP even further by dying repeatedly and getting Death Penalty to 60%.

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

alright i jus scanned thru this and it mayb a newbie question but how do u get ur life 2 55 ?
and does this build work for places like uw and other places...

cerb · Jan 09, 2006, 01:41 AM // 01:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illusion

alright i jus scanned thru this and it mayb a newbie question but how do u get ur life 2 55 ?
and does this build work for places like uw and other places...

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fundamentals

I pwnd U · Jan 09, 2006, 03:10 AM // 03:10

very good job. basically the same build i use. good job easy to read and right to the point.