Curse

pug_ster · Mar 15, 2007, 04:33 PM // 16:33

I've heroes and henched for my pve chars with masters for most missions. I already got protector of elona for 7 of my pve chars and working on my 8th char (assassin) atm.

Here's some notes for masters...

Jennur's Horde - the stationary margonite groups are very pullable. Also, 2 bonus groups of margonites and harbringer are not in the same group

Dzaganur's Bastion - Assign 2 whisper groups to west side and one group to center. Defend East and center side until the 4 boss groups pop up and quickly attack the ele boss first without attacking anybody else. Go back and defend against the kournan and margonite attackers. Afterwards, attack the war boss (east side.) Afterwards, do the paragon or monk boss.

Gate of pain - Pull the bonus groups so that the spiders will spam MS at your pull spot instead at your group.

Zapper901 · Mar 15, 2007, 06:28 PM // 18:28

Gate of Madness is my least favorite. Not too hard, just have to get a group that's not full of idiots, but that happens quite often in PUGs. Eventually I just hero/henched it, wasn't terribly difficult, except for Shiro owning everybody with Impossible Odds sometimes.

wajj · Mar 15, 2007, 06:34 PM // 18:34

Mine is Dzaganur Bastion. Managed to get experts the first time with a PUG that didn't have any idea what they were doing (myself included). Went through and got Master's with heroes and henchmen on all other missions before coming back. Failed to get Master's about a dozen times in a row (party wipe in most of those) until I made Master of Whispers a MM and flagged he and Tahlkora at the right hand defense. Finally managed to get masters doing that.

Then, took some guild members there, followed the same strategy, and am currently 0 for 6 since my success.

Really do hate that mission.

Soul of the Scythe · Mar 15, 2007, 08:32 PM // 20:32

I'm gonna post my secret(

) strategies for GoM and Dzag:

Gate of Madness
5 points:
1. When you get just before the spot with the 2 torment claws side by side, have someone run right in between them. Make sure they run far enough past to aggro the 3 scythes that pop up AND far enough to get out of range of torment slash. The rest of the group should wait about the diameter of the aggro circle away. MAKE SURE THE PATROL TO THE LEFT IS FAR AWAY! After the scythes pop up and the claws do their slash, run back between the claws(just hit "x" and run forward) and back to the group. The Scythes will return to their pop-up spot, then run in and kill the claws. The scythes will be out of aggro range. If you do not force the scythes to pop up first, they will pop up when u attack the claws and attack you. After the claws are dead, kill the scythes. You do not have to kill the abovementioned patrol, just make sure you time it so they are not near you.

2. After the above part, run to just past where the scythes popped up. Then EVERYBODY should run towards the gate where shiro is and wait there. AS SOON AS IT OPENS RUN THRU TO THE FAR WALL! Ignore the shiro'ken. Good Idea here: Flag Heroes at the far wall. One of two things will happen, 1, you all make it and the 3 shiro'ken follow you and you kill them and that part is over. 2. one henchie or hero gets stuck and gets killed by the shiro'ken. In this case DO NOT try to save him/her just run to the wall. The Shiro'ken will kill him/her and then leave. Simply go up and res the guy and ur done with the shiro'ken.

3. This is the biggest secret of all and makes things a lot easier. After you kill all the portals, and the gate opens, have one person go thru the gate and hug the right wall. Take baby steps forward, still hugging the wall. Rotate ur camera so you are looking toward where the Lich is standing. Take baby steps forward until u see the Lich say "Feel my Power" or whatever, then move back to the group relatively slowly. The Lich will come up. Try to lure him up to the door(shouldn't be a problem) and just rape him. Shiro will remain down in the middle and not bother you while you kill the Lich.

4. The Shrines. Activate them all. DO NOT ATTACK SHIRO. Run to each, make sure to flag heroes and henchies in the middle of shrine area to charge it quicker. Call targets frequently so henchies don't attack Shiro. Do this for all 5 shrines. After you get all 5 you can either just fight shiro there or run out the gate again and recharge/make a game plan for him.

5. Wild Blow. Wild Blow is your best friend in this mission. At least 2 people is perfect for this mission. I usually have it and my Koss does as well and there has never been a problem with Shiro. I tell Koss when to use it of course(have it disabled). If you can hit him with Wild Blow or any of the stance ending skills right after Impossible Odds is cast, and everytime he casts Battle Scars after that, you will be fine. Just remember, Battle Scars in itself is not a big deal, but with Impossible Odds, it can wipe melee characters in seconds. Note: Devona carries Wild Blow, no guarantee she will use it right though.

Those are my secrets for that mission. Usually no deaths occur on this mission when I run it. I have done with 5 heroes/henchies before(ran 2 people and they both were afk the whole time)

Dzagonur Bastion:
I consider this mission to be easy once you get the hang of it. At least one Minion Master helps, when moving from boss to boss, the minions should kill any stragglers left behind and stop them from bothering you.

2 Points:
1. Whispers assignments: 2 group to the East Gate, 1 to the West Gate

2. The Generals: After you wipe out the first groups(try to memorize where they come from to make killin them easier and don't worry about the east side, the guys over there and the bombard will take care of them no problem) go to where the Monk boss, Nimtak, spawns and kill him when he spawns. Focus all fire on him. As soon as he is killed go to General Doriah, the Warrior to the West. Focus fire on him until he is dead(LB's Gaze while he does healing sig is fantastic here). Next run to the Paragon General, Kumtash, and Spike him. If you have not seen a message saying a bombard/gate is in trouble then you can kinda slow down a bit here and kill the stragglers(but I wouldn't recommend it). if you have seen a message about the East Bombard, then run over to the Ele Boss, Tirraj, And spike him. He should fall quickly to a good spike but watchout for his Invoke Lightning, it hurts alot.

Remember only 5 of the 6 Defenses must be left intact to get bonus, so if one falls, don't panic.
I have never failed to get Masters on that mission.

And to actually respond to the topic:
The mission I hate the most to get Masters on is Venta Cemetery, not because it is hard but because it is long as arse....
The mission I hate doing the most in general is Gate of Madness because when I had my mission Running Service up (it's closed atm so don't ask

) every other request was for that mission. And I ended up doing like 3 runs a night on it becuase as I was like halfway through one, I would get a PM from someone who wanted it also....

P.S. J/K about not asking, just PM me in game and I will see what I can do for you(for a price, or I may be feeling charitable), I can run all missions in all campaigns. I just don't like to atm, at least for another week or so then I will probably reopen my Running Service.

Kazama Moonshade · Mar 15, 2007, 09:58 PM // 21:58

Weird i really liked Dzagonur Bastion,did it 1 shot in Master!

Gate Of Madness is a pain of an ass,each member having there own plan of how beating the mish...

Yobz · Mar 15, 2007, 11:07 PM // 23:07

GOM tip-
After the two claws and the popup group, you do not have to fight the shiroken at all!

At the bottom of the hill before the claws. You may need to wait and take out the patrol coming from the left.

Now go up the hill and kill the claws, then move forward and kill the popups.

Now send the group back down the bottom of the hill to where you killed that patrol.

Send ONE person up to the gate, you will hear Shiro call for the Shiroken. Run back to your group immediately. Wait for the shiroken group to pass - don't aggro them. (This is the shiroken group that usually ends up behind you if you fight normally)

Run in the gap where the shiroken group came from. This is the backway into the area with the rifts.

Dracil · Mar 16, 2007, 03:42 AM // 03:42

Shouldn't the hardest mission be Mallyx The Unyielding/The Ebony Citadel of Mallyx in the Domain of Anguish?

Enchanted Warrior · Mar 16, 2007, 05:13 AM // 05:13

Gates of madness is a pain in the ... Had Shiro down to a sliver of health then bang group is dead. I have beaten him many times in factions final. Best time there was 30 seconds. but in NF, AGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHH.

I have read the wiki a few hundred times, gotten the suggested skills, it absolutely makes no sense making a mission that hard. I guess I'm getting old..

*sigh*

Arkantos · Mar 16, 2007, 05:22 AM // 05:22

He should be easier to beat in GoM since he doesn't have MotR or the skill that banishes players.

Sofonisba · Mar 16, 2007, 05:53 AM // 05:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arkantos

He should be easier to beat in GoM since he doesn't have MotR or the skill that banishes players.

Nor does he have his little Shiroken buddies that pop up to get in the way. It's just him, and yet... that's enough lol.

I used to think GoM was hard, but now that I've done it a hundred times, I kinda like it

shhhhhh don't tell anyone...

Humanghost · Mar 16, 2007, 07:44 AM // 07:44

For me, the most difficult mission is Gate of Madness. It's horrible! I hate that mission. Especially when I do it with hero+hench. I't almost impossible for me. But with good group it's not so hard.

bungusmaximus · Mar 16, 2007, 08:04 AM // 08:04

With a good group shiro is a harmless little puppy, and the mission a breeze, it's just that good groups are kinda rare. Sometimes I'm surprised how people got that far in the first place. Frustrating part about that mission is that you can do well for an hour, and get owned in the end by shiro.

davehall · Mar 16, 2007, 08:41 AM // 08:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by bungusmaximus

With a good group shiro is a harmless little puppy, and the mission a breeze, it's just that good groups are kinda rare. Sometimes I'm surprised how people got that far in the first place. Frustrating part about that mission is that you can do well for an hour, and get owned in the end by shiro.

The key to getting Masters is to avoid Shiro until the end, after completing the bonus part, then have all party members use ranged weapons on him. Took awhile to bring him down this way, but it works. Made Masters on first attempt with a PUG -- after I repeatedly told the others in my party to stop using melee weapons on him.

-Dave

erfweiss · Mar 16, 2007, 09:32 AM // 09:32

The Gate of Madness can be a nightmare, depending on who you have in your group (IE: the people who think they are invincible and aggro everything).

I am just so thankful that I am finished with that mission. All 10 of my playing toons are done at Gate of Madness. I can now bring who I want to help people (getting a sin through there was the accomplishment...no one wants them in a group).

Enchanted Warrior · Mar 16, 2007, 08:44 PM // 20:44

I tried GoM and Imp Sanctum today and guess what, not only does Shiro have virtually no recharge (yeah we all knew that) when he is about to lose he triggers Imp Odds 3 times in a row. Man my luck stinks lately.I am not saying he hits you 3 times and all dead, I mean it triggers, you see the bar, and again and again..

I mean come on..

Kelly G · Mar 17, 2007, 01:51 AM // 01:51

One thing I thought I would mention about Dzaganur Bastion. If you do get overwhelmed and one of the enemy teams opens one of the three gates.....grab your whole team....go inside, and run all the way to the top where you started the mission, fight the rest of the enemies right there on the stairs, and they are very easy to finish off, as they come up a group at a time. Again, if you get overwhelmed below...run the team to the top and finish the mission there.

Bryant Again · Mar 17, 2007, 04:15 AM // 04:15

It used to be Poghan Passage before they made the NPC you had to guard level 20 and actually heal herself.

Best. Update. Ever.

And right now? Probably Kodunar Crossroads, because the Centaurs were trying to attack the Kournan through a wall and so they didn't do anything, and I died, and got pissed off. Only one time, though.

Krejt · Mar 17, 2007, 05:52 PM // 17:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryant Again

It used to be Poghan Passage before they made the NPC you had to guard level 20 and actually heal herself.

True.
She was lvl 16 before the update and (for no reason) leeroyed into the fight. I tried this mission many times (with hero/hench, PUGs, guild...) and most of the times she died at the stairs after clearing the bridge.
Now she's lvl 20 and stay in the back of group, so it's sooo easy to pass the mish (and bonus is easy as pie, and quite funny).

I had no trouble of beating Dzagonur with hero/hench, but also tried with some various PUGs - and it was harder.
For GoM - see above.

Sheriff · Mar 18, 2007, 09:34 AM // 09:34

Some missions are easier to do but harder to get Masters.

Pogahn Passage for example: The mission itself is a piece of cake, but to get Masters... I took a Water Ele + Crippling Anguish Mesmer just to take care of the 2 runners.

It took me some time to get Masters at Sebelkeh until I understood Margonites could take their shrines back :-D Also Jennur's Horde until I found the recommended tactics on guildwiki (after that it became a piece of cake)

I think in terms of difficulty, NF missions are generally easier than Prophecies or Factions.

Evilsod · Mar 18, 2007, 07:40 PM // 19:40

None of them are hard. Closest 1 that i'd say to be actually hard is Gate of Pain maters. But really they're all just fustrating...

Jennurs Horde is an easy masters if you just gives Koss Charge and learn how to flag. Mission itself is ridiculously easy.
Gate of Madness just needs the right cookie cutter hero builds and your home free.
Tihark Orchard is a waste of f*cking time.
Blacktide Den has the most pointless, drawn out bonus ever.
Ruins of Morah and Abaddons Gate aren't hard, just ridiculously fustrating. It took me 30 minutes to finally kill Abaddon on my mesmer... after killing no less than 30 Torment Claws and the same mob 5 times before he FINALLY showed himself for a 4th time!