Curse

JoDiamonds · Aug 11, 2005, 07:29 PM // 19:29

The reason I've failed this most often is because someone "slipped" past half the defense and killed the king while most of the people were left alive. To me, the two things you can do to best ensure success is:

1. Stand on the King at the end of the mission. Have a couple people on catapults, but pull them back when the enemy actually shows up.

2. Don't do the bonus.

There's other stuff, of course, and having the ability to quickly kill is important to keep from being overwhelmed -- damage is far better than healing in this mission. (Of course, that's true in most missions, and people who constantly demand more healers don't always know what they are talking about...)

zehly · Aug 12, 2005, 12:00 AM // 00:00

I'm such a sick bastard. Want to know how my Monk beat this mission? I was the leader and primary healer in the group. We breezed through the first part. When we got to the keep, and people began to do the usual "I'm doing my own thing" I told them to obey my commands or they would recieve no further healing. I made that very clear when I let a nuker die right in front of me when I could heal him. After noticing that I was more interested in team work than completing the mission, they fell before my mighty feminine whim, and we won.

A big thanks goes out to my girlfriend and part-time lover, Lina, for her invaluable assistance in spamming Aegis. Thank you honey!

Old Dood · Aug 12, 2005, 12:35 AM // 00:35

Sometimes you have to use a 2 X 4 to get their attention!!

Good for you....

MaglorD · Aug 12, 2005, 01:43 AM // 01:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dwiggit

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.... it IS actually possible to complete Thunderhead keep with real people!

Needless to say, real ppl will always be better than henchies provided they know what they're doing. A group that knows what they're doing is far better than henchies.

The fact that ppl have completed Thunderhead Keep with henchies is itself an achievement. And if they did the bonus as well, it's gets even better.

Elmore Ironfist · Aug 12, 2005, 10:51 AM // 10:51

I'm ready to quit GW because of this mission

I've been stuck for a week at Thunderhead, tried all the tips..but it seems impossible to get a decent/non-quitter team together. Well, it's been enjoyable game until this...sad that one mission takes the fun out of game/playing.

Krack Jacker · Aug 12, 2005, 08:34 PM // 20:34

To me this is a Very Easy mission, the first few times I did it, it was hard. But now its one of my favorite missions and I get it done easy everytime. THe key to this mission is the people you do it with, avoid doing it with inexperienced noobs and you will finish it first try!

sino-soviet · Aug 12, 2005, 08:41 PM // 20:41

My suggestion is to use trappers. Lay traps at the entrance as much as quickly as possible. Anything that gets past the catapults will be killed instantly.

sledgeunderhill · Aug 12, 2005, 08:59 PM // 20:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChoKILLate[FDG]

I do have one question though: Is there a way to lure without having your henchies charging in? I make sure I dont call the target, but they all go rushing in reguardless.

There is a way to lure without getting henchies to run in.

It has several names, but I like to call it passive pulling. Essentially, you move forward so that your white aggro circle grazes the enemy's red dot until they come to you. Once they move, you back up by pressing 's'. Once the enemy has be sufficiently pulled away from the rest of the group, then you can attack.

If you are running with a team of melee henchies, you must be careful about how you use the technique. Thom will attack even if you don't. I think that Devona will still wait for your cue. I've had the luxury of not having to use the melee tanks and opted for the Archer and Elementalist.

Inviolable D · Aug 13, 2005, 12:01 AM // 00:01

Thismission aint "that hard". I did it today on my second attempt, it requries your team to pile the same enemy, and keep doing it, again, again, again, again, again.. so on..

You MUST use the targeting/callign system. Henchies, or a decent team who attacks the same target are enough. You can use hencies, what you call, they attack.

When your at the fort, and have mursaat come, run up to where the king is, wait for the mursaat to come at you in waves, and just pile the same one, over and over again, look out for kings hp, he's a dumb nutter at times, and when dorian comes, take priest, then sycophants (sp) then rest of mantle, then dorian is on his own, bye bye

FaerieFly · Aug 13, 2005, 05:22 AM // 05:22

I have to agree Thunderhead Keep is wildly frustrating. After a week and a half of multiple attempts with pugs, friends, and a combination of these with henchies, my necro was fortunate enough to get in a group with an able leader who spelled out our jobs. You see, there isn't one sure way to get through this. There are many different strategies. After we died the first time out, he kicked one of the group members out who couldn't follow orders and quickly got a replacement. Second run was like cutting through butter. At the end, he asked if we had any other characters we'd like to take through. I quickly got my ranger. This time I wasn't standing at the end. Our monk had been killed. A player with a signet had already used his and I was eating dirt for the final movie clip. A week night, I was also worn out. I thanked everyone and quickly camped. It was two days later before I got back to my ranger and discovered to my dismay I had not gotten credit for that mission. Obviously a bug. Although I petitioned, I've not heard a thing. Had a similar problem months ago that never got a reply but was fixed in a patch about a month later.

My point in commenting is this: you can know a winning strategy, but if you are leader and don't write directions, everyone is going to pursue his own "winning" strategy. I find that you can generally survive even bad strategies if everyone is employing the same one. While communication is difficult in GW it is not impossible. The problem with most pug leaders is they don't lead: they think everyone is a mind reader.

Someone earlier mentioned the king sometimes runs down and joins the fray. I'd say that happens about a third of the time. And once he leaves his perch for the arena, he never lives to go back up on the wall. It's just a matter of time until he dies.

The very first time my long-time friend and I went through with henchies, we got as far as the jade boss. We did not have the power (both of us necros) to take him down. As I said before, we tried countless times with friends, strangers, etc., we could not get past that mob--ever. I seriously doubt any single player has made it with a group of henchies.

Elmore Ironfist · Aug 13, 2005, 04:15 PM // 16:15

Hooray

i finally made it. Group -> 3 warriors (me w/mo), 2 rangers, ele, monk and protection henchman. Elementalist left when we reached the city, but luckily we were able to complete this nightmare. I recall only 2 deaths during the mission.

What made the difference was:
1)good leader (thx Jim the Fat!)
2)people obeyed orders
3)target calling
4)mesmer, who knew what he was doing

Mesmer must be the most underrated profession in this game...if you want to make things easier, pick one to your group

I'm sure i will for now on.

delfin42 · Aug 15, 2005, 03:45 PM // 15:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by FaerieFly

Someone earlier mentioned the king sometimes runs down and joins the fray. I'd say that happens about a third of the time. And once he leaves his perch for the arena, he never lives to go back up on the wall. It's just a matter of time until he dies.

If the King takes damage, he will move from his perch to engage whoever damaged him. Once that enemy is dead and he's no longer being attacked, he stays where he is. The obvious solution is to engage all enemies before they get close enough to take a shot at the King, which can be done while camping out in front of him. From that spot, there are only four places attacks can come from (the two stairwells and the two catapult catwalks), so it's fairly easy to cut off attacking groups.

Quote:

The very first time my long-time friend and I went through with henchies, we got as far as the jade boss. We did not have the power (both of us necros) to take him down. As I said before, we tried countless times with friends, strangers, etc., we could not get past that mob--ever. I seriously doubt any single player has made it with a group of henchies.

I've done it with all henches as a Monk, an Ele and a Ranger. Even a team of henches can take down the Mursaat Monk boss, the hardest one to kill, though it takes forever. Some kind of disruption/interruption skill will help dramatically.

Okra · Aug 15, 2005, 06:05 PM // 18:05

Finally finished this last Thursday. Probably my 9th or 10th attempt.

Got on, hooked up w/ a group that made it to the keep, king died b/c we were distracted at one of the gates.

Back to beginning, left the first group, found a very good elementalist & monk that were forming a party, invited my necro, filled rest of spots w/ henchies.

Ele called the shots, and guided us right through - no deaths in our party at all!

Stayed by the king the entire time, attacked minions first, boss last, and pulled it off.

Ele was actually thanking me for well of power - nice change.

Big thanks to that ele & monk that helped me out - I owe you two a couple of beers!

Ashika · Aug 15, 2005, 06:32 PM // 18:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elmore Ironfist

Mesmer must be the most underrated profession in this game...if you want to make things easier, pick one to your group

I'm sure i will for now on.

I'm sure you meant for PvE

I totally agree with you. My first toon was a Me/E and I abandoned it for a Mo/N. Just recently I went back to the Me/E (I had also learned there were some pretty sweet skills...in other words, I was no longer a complete newb) and I consistently out-nuke any E/x that I'm with all the while shutting down casters.

As for this mission, I'd say it rates as one of my top favorites. Another fav is the one in Ring of Fire or w/e where you aren't supposed to storm the gate, but doing so is so much more fun!

I've never done this mission with hench, as I prefer intelligent people. However, finding intelligent peeps can be pretty hard

The first two times I attempted and failed this mission were because of player stupidity. So I lead the third time. Put together a solid team. Talked to the peeps before hand so everyone was on the same page. I'll tell ya, it was one smooth victory

ChoKILLate[FDG] · Aug 17, 2005, 06:19 PM // 18:19

1.) If you do it with a group, make sure a caster or monk gets the king so that he does not go attacking everything

2.) At the end have your monk put mending on the king. This gives you extra time to get back to him just in case.

3.) Do it in smaller groups. I use 3 people max and then henchies. One person calls target so that henches all focus fire on one target. I have gotten all 3 of my characters (W, Mo, Ele) through this mission with 3 or fewer people.

Corbin · Aug 17, 2005, 11:29 PM // 23:29

i found it to be quite easy, its all about thinking fast and being able to direct a pug with quick decisions, no time to sit and wait

Traveller · Aug 18, 2005, 01:00 PM // 13:00

Here's my story.

I had heard stories about Thunderhead, but thought, nah, I couldn't be bothered to hunt for a good PUG, I'll just use henchies. First time - didn't know what the mission was like, got to the fort, aggroed two groups by mistake - king rushed in and died. Second time, moved more slowly, got to the point where the Mursaat boss comes along (think it was a necro one), but there were just too many to handle and eventually a few Jade armors slipped through and made short work of the King.

Then I thought: "Wonder if a good PUG would have it easier?" Well, the usual troubles with forming a group:

"We need a monk"
"U R W/MO"
"Well, a primary one and.."
"TAKE MHENLO"
"MHENLO SUC BALS"
"RDY"
"GOGOGOGOGO"

But eventually I found a good group - there was a monk who had done it before, he laid it our for us - and everyone eventually followed orders, including a rushing elementalist who died a few times.. but in the end, few people on ballistas, others fendind off the Mursaat, it was kinda fun when the team worked together. I was very excited when someone spotted Dorian and tought, "Hey, we might actually pull this one off" and of course, the big bad confessor was a big pushover and we did it.

Mind you, we did the bonus too. I'm not even sure what we did to make the bonus. Kill more enemies?

The Mighty Toe · Aug 20, 2005, 01:22 PM // 13:22

I have a plan for Thunderhead... I won't be able to test it any time soon though, could someone tell me if this would work?

Team: 1 Warrior, to keep Mursaat and Jades busy
2 Elementalists, to quickly destroy larger groups
2 Rangers/Monks, to call targets, use ballistae and heal King
1 Monk, to heal & resurrect party
1 Mesmer, to interrupt spells and drain energy
and 1 Necromancer to raise minions

Contact me in-game if you want to test it

Queto · Aug 20, 2005, 03:48 PM // 15:48

My Me/N just made it with Henchies

On the bridge where Jalis rushes, I just fought and fought, and only Cynn died, but we made it. (thank you well of blood/power)

In the fort, I cleared everything but Dagnar, then I killed the giants on the west side with catapults, then killed Dagnar.

Some Boss Dolyak came, I did Backfire and he was dead in no time. Then the other boss came, it was a necro mursaat. That was the hardest part I think, there was a Jade Bow, 2 white mantle and the boss. I was dead, only Mhenlo, Aidan en Little Thom were alive. They killed the white mantle, the bow and then started rezzing all of us. I did blackout and empathy on the necro and he died. I captured his Life Transfer, and just killed all the rest of the incoming mursaat/white mantle.

Hints for Me/N or N/Me with henchmen:

Use Backfire to kill monk & elementalist
Use Empathy to kill the rest
Use Well of Blood & Power to keep the king and your party alive!

I think the Wells saved us

Leddy · Aug 21, 2005, 06:59 AM // 06:59

Yeah, i failed it 6 times, twice with hench and 4 times with PUG. Both times with hench King died. All times with PUG they were being idiots and didn't know how to use the balistae properly/split up and all got killed.

What i really need is a group who can sensibly work together. =/