Curse

NJudson · May 13, 2006, 03:50 AM // 03:50

I would definetely have to say that the Elona Reach mission was the defining point in my Guild Wars gameplay where I finally began to learn good gameplay. I learned this from playing my warrior which was my first character. The skills that I really honed and began to understand on this mission were:

1) Proper aggro control (don't aggro more than 1 enemy squad at a time)
2) Pulling targets (pull those stubborn enemy squads as not to aggro other squads)
3) Patience (wait for enemy squads to move as not to aggro other squads)
4) Call Targets (obviously much easier to kill a group if you take them down one at a time with focused attacks)

Granted, I probably should've developed these skills before I reached this point in the game, but I guess everyone has their own learning curve. Despite my having learned this and knowing how to beat the mission with relative ease, it remains the most difficult mission for me to beat. Why you ask....well because I prefer to play PUG rather than henchman and SOOOO many people I group with have not yet learned those oh so important tactics that I mentioned. There is no other mission in this game that can be so frustrating because it only takes you noob/moron/jackhole to aggro too much and get everyone killed. I'm typically patient because I give people the benefit of the doubt since I was a Elona Reach noob/idiot for the first few times I played it. However, it is really grinding on my patience to have so many people screw up that mission.

It took me about 12 times to beat with my warrior. I tried about 6-7 times with my monk and just got too frustrated and decided to beat it with henchman. Now my ranger is at the mission and I was hoping for better luck this time, but after about 5 attempts I see that it is as annoying as ever. I learned how to beat this cursed mission....when is everyone else???

Avarre · May 13, 2006, 04:11 AM // 04:11

Elona and Thunderhead for sure.

Aggro management doesn't really get learnt, especially as a caster, in the early game. It's not until Elona or so that it's really needed. Learned calling targets there too

Shilkanni · May 13, 2006, 04:30 AM // 04:30

I think Elona Reach was a turning point for me too... there's a couple places where it's really important to pull one group at a time, and the Forgotten Healers (Sages) I feel are the first good enemy healers in the game.

It forces you to:
- attack and disrupt the sages first (focus fire skills)
- avoid letting multiple sages get near each other (pulling skills)

It was the first desert mission I did though - so I'm not sure if I would have learned this at Thirsty River if I'd done that first.

Sometimes if you're going in PUGs you get a good group and then can completed a hard mission first try and you don't really learn much from it. I don't think I learnt much at 'Thunderhead Keep' because I've completed it most times I've done it.

NJudson · May 13, 2006, 04:35 AM // 04:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avarre

Elona and Thunderhead for sure.

Aggro management doesn't really get learnt, especially as a caster, in the early game. It's not until Elona or so that it's really needed. Learned calling targets there too

Yeah, I guess Thunderhead is too, but I've had pretty good luck with PUG for that one. I nearly beat THK with my warrior on 1st try with PUG, but kinda fell apart at the end. The 2nd time was tough, but we did do it. I beat THK the 1st with my monk on a PUG. That time with my monk was with a group of experienced guild members (someone else's guild). They were really good and we breezed through the mission. They even payed me 3k for helping them.

Shilkanni · May 13, 2006, 05:04 AM // 05:04

People often seem to mention Thunderhead Keep as one of the hardest, but I had more trouble with:
- Hell's Precipice
- Abbadon's Mouth
- Elona Reach
- Thirsty River

The problem (for PUGs) in Desert Missions is getting people who understand strategy & timing, the problem in the Ring of fire Missions is getting people who can actually stay for the whole mission (they are fairly long).

Opeth11 · May 13, 2006, 05:42 AM // 05:42

Believe it or not, The Great Northern Wall.

Back in the day, I was a Warrior/Monk. I was invincible. At the end of the mission, I forgot to apply a certain skill called 'reading'. I never ran for the wall. I don't know why I didn't notice the warnings. I tried to tank all the Charr. Can you guess what happened to the level 5 W/Mo?

Aside from that early blunder, all the Desert missions have taught me how to work with other players. The hazards of the aggro bubble.

Thunderhead Keep? Not so much. I learned to not go with a PUG without a group understanding of the mission. I went with 6 Warriors and 2 Monks. We all knew what we were doing, and we destroyed it with our damage output.

arcanemacabre · May 13, 2006, 06:44 AM // 06:44

The first real important things I learned wasn't from a mission, but a quest. The first quest you get right outside Yak's Bend where you have to clear the path of Stone Summit. I learned the magic of calling targets and very basic pulling and aggro (though I was already kinda knowledgeable as far as pulling and aggro from previous MMOs).

The first mission that really taught me something was Riverside Province, and the beauty of patience and avoiding mobs. Next important lessons learned was Thirsty River, my first experience with a PvP-like scenario. This actually taught me to focus on single groups and the importance of killing the normal mobs before the boss.

The most important things I ever learned in GW was in ThK, of course. I learned three things. One, don't blindly follow someone just because they say they've done this mission before and know where to go/what to do. Two, keeping NPCs alive is an excersize of the utility. And Three, teamwork and complimenting other member's builds to form a balanced team.

That said, I really like the beginning areas in Factions, as it teaches most of these important things right away. Of course, it makes for some boring tales of how you learned said skills...

anubis_master · May 14, 2006, 01:03 AM // 01:03

I dont know but i kinda liked the first games way of learning wich is learn as you play unlike in factions were its a bit to explained but i guess its ok if u were a noob but its to tidious for the rest of us

Arkantos · May 14, 2006, 01:15 AM // 01:15

For aggro, I'd have to say Thirsty River and THK. But the most important thing anyone can learn from prophecies, Henchies > PUGs ftw.

Jetdoc · May 15, 2006, 02:08 PM // 14:08

Thirsty River is normally the first place where team coordination is required, mainly because it is almost a necessity to kill the wandering groups quickly so that you can focus on the priest.

Sab · May 15, 2006, 02:16 PM // 14:16

Thirsty River - coordination, calling targets.

Abaddon's Mouth - Willa. Enough said.

Kilane · May 15, 2006, 03:27 PM // 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Opeth11

Believe it or not, The Great Northern Wall.

Back in the day, I was a Warrior/Monk. I was invincible. At the end of the mission, I forgot to apply a certain skill called 'reading'. I never ran for the wall. I don't know why I didn't notice the warnings. I tried to tank all the Charr. Can you guess what happened to the level 5 W/Mo?

Now thats classic!!! Were you alone and did NO ONE run to the wall??? I remember doing this with my Necro my second time through it and decided to let my group run for the wall, I was gonna stay behind and be billy bad-ass lvl 10 necro. I don't think I killed one Charr before they beat me down but my group did make it to the wall and we succeeded.

...As for me, it's been a long time but I think the Mission that I learned the most from was Thirsty River (If I'm remembering correctly)....that is the one that you have to take out six groups with a boss from each class? Anyway...yea, that one. That was the mission that for me was the pinnacle of just *WHAT* this game was trying to teach us in terms of cooperation. It takes a good team with good communication skills to do it.

A lot of people said THK. My warrior was stuck there for the last five months and I simply COULD NOT beat it with my warrior...PUGS sucked each and every time I tried, I died. I gave up and it was just yesterday while playing with a buddy in Factions that he said "I'm sick of fighting afflicted" and my response was "we could always go back and try THK for my warrior"....and we beat it, just me and him and henchies. The only other time I beat this mission was with my Monk and I *TOTALLY* hench'd it....I couldn't believe I pulled that one off as I just went in to skill cap because I'm an ele secondary and decided to camp the king and see how long I can hold out.

Cherno · May 15, 2006, 05:04 PM // 17:04

The Road to Borliss Pass and those quests from Yaks are definate turning points in most people's gameplay.

Also, I think even much earlier than Elona for pulling is Riverside Province. If you are doing the bonus, learning to pull those mobs is key. It is a very good lesson in agro control and how casters and backline should stay out of agro circle. It makes that bonus so much easier. Possibly even earlier is the Fort Ranik bonus. At the typical character level, the spirits are difficult, and getting them all at once is suicide.

Thirsty River is huge for coordinated attacks and timing. If you work together as a team, that mission is a breeze.

Abaddons is a first for people dealing with bosses. Especially at the beginning where there isn't a lot of room to move to avoid over agro. Dealing with multiple bosses at once is tough.