Flameseeker Chronicles: The War in Kryta continues
Massively's Guild Wars group bid farewell to Old Ascalon last week, finishing Nolani Academy and landing in Yak's Bend. Besides running through the missions, we enjoyed hanging out in our shiny new Wizard's Isle guild hall and sharing minipets, weapons, and materials for armor donated by some very kind veteran players. Next week will be a whirlwind tour of the Northern Shiverpeaks as we travel from Yak's Bend to Borlis Pass, then on to the Frost Gate, winding up in Gates of Kryta. It's certainly not too late to join us in [MVOP]. We play every Thursday night beginning at 9:00 PM Eastern time -- just send a whisper to IGN Rubi Djinn, or email me at rubi AT massively DOT com with your IGN, and I'll send you an invitation!
The rest of Tyria has been busy this past week as well. We received some very exciting news about Guild Wars 2, chatted with Ree Soesbee, and watched new events unfold in the War in Kryta storyline. Last week's update brought more than just a new bounty or two, so follow along after the jump as we walk through the latest from Lion's Arch Keep.
The newest War in Kryta update is unusual in that it brings us our first mission-style quest, but as always you have to be caught up on Tyrian current events to participate. In this case, your character has to have completed the three inquisitor bounties: Inquisitors Bauer, Lashona, and Lovisa. Each of these are pretty interesting and present some challenges, so let's take a quick look at them.
Inquisitor Bauer -- yes, a little homage to Jack Bauer -- is surrounded by a handful of Mantle, Peacekeepers, and most importantly a Jade Cloak and some other Jade constructs. Henchmen in Gates of Kryta are not infused, so either do this one with other people or be prepared for your henchmen to take some serious damage from Spectral Agony. You'll find Bauer attempting to interrogate a group of dead Mergoyles, and he's pretty annoyed at their lack of cooperation. His monster skill is "There's Not Enough Time!" -- a shout which gives everyone in earshot instant cast times. That includes you and your party, which is nice, but it's much less nice when the Jade Cloak is insta-casting Sandstorm, so be very careful. Look out for enemies with rez skills as well, or it could be a very long fight.
Inquisitor Lashona brings a few challenges on the way. The quickest way to get to him is to leave from Bergen Hot Springs. You can avoid the mob to the south, focusing on the skeleton rangers on the hill. Unfortunately, once you have cleared the skeletons, a Shining Blade ally will come flying out of nowhere to the south, announcing his or her desire to help you. This "help" includes aggroing the entire southern mob and bringing them to you, so plan on killing them in either case. Once you haul your assistant through those mobs, it's a quick trek to Ascalon Settlement.
The final bounty is creepy kidnapper Inquisitor Lovisa, hanging out on the beach of Watchtower Coast with five of her brainwashed little friends. As you arrive she's wrapping up the story of how Saul D'Alessio saved Kryta from the Charr and reminding the children that the Shining Blade are bad. Upon aggro, she'll call upon the kids for help: "Children, these evil people want to take me away from you! Give me your strength so I can defeat these heathens." The children will spam Adoration, which can be a bit confusing if you're unprepared and don't know where the mega-heals are coming from. Lovisa's an AoE Ele, so Pain Inverter is your friend here -- particularly if you've got minions on hand. You can either pull her out of range of the heals -- the children will stay put -- or simply rain so much damage onto Lovisa that you overwhelm the heals.
Once you've got these three bounties done and turned in, Riverside Assassination -- the newest quest -- is available from Princess Salma. She'll send you to Blade Operative Paulina in Sanctum Cay, who will send you into Riverside Province under cover of night. Take some time to look around before you dive in -- the Tyrian coastline by night is a beautiful sight, and one we've not seen before. While this is a mission-style quest, the boat where you begin serves as a rez shrine. If you party wipe, you will get sent back to the beginning, but you won't have to clear the mobs again.
There are two ways you can approach this quest: storming the front gates or capturing the keys to the back gates. Storming the front gates means a tangle with an Ether Seal and a large amount of Mantle, Peacekeepers, and Jade. Your best bet is to stop at the bridge approaching the front entrance, flag any heroes, and begin pulling mobs little by little. Once you've cleared the exterior it's possible to move up a bit and start pulling the enemies that are patrolling near the Ether Seal. Caster-heavy groups are going to have a hard time with the Seal, but it's possible to pull all the enemies out, kill them, then run inside and past it (Some enemies that are farther inside can be pulled by aggroing them from outside the wall -- they'll come around and out.)
Your alternative is traveling to the far west side of Riverside Province and killing the two bosses that hold the keys. As far as time, there's not a huge difference between the two, but Riverside Province by night is certainly worth exploring. Once you reach Willem the Demeaning, plan on either interrupting a lot or fighting for a while -- his Ether Feast is a powerful self-heal. One final note: don't torture yourself by doing this in hard mode unless you just feel like it, since the reward is the same either way.
When you're finished, head back to Lion's Arch Keep, where a grateful Salma will load you up with goodies: 10,000 XP, 2 platinum, 5 Royal Gifts, and a Medal of Honor.
I really hope that next week's Flameseeker Chronicles will be able to explain what those darn things are for.
