Not happy with sylvari story

Not happy with sylvari story

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Posted by: IronHide.2176

IronHide.2176

I am playing a sylvari Necromancer minion master with a Staff. I get to the story mission where I have to fight the Lich while the centaurs fight the undead. I don’t know who designed this but clearly they thought that only Gaurdians or Warriors were going to do this quest. It forces you to use a sword that doesn’t even have good attacks or powers. As a Necromancer who uses his minions to take the brunt of the damage this means that I am now completely out of my element. I have tried all the different options of utility spells but since they are all minion spells and I’m being gang banged by six different undead brutes plus the lich without my staff to support the minions that means I am kitten. I tried using other unlocks I have but nothing works and now all my armor is broken and I have to restart it. I can’t get past this quest as it currently is, this ladies and gentlemen is a badly designed quest.

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Posted by: Olkyr.4821

Olkyr.4821

I remember thinking the exact same thing, whoever designed that quest completely disregarded about half the classes in the game. Forcing cloth wearers to get into melee range with a sword is ridiculous, at the very least we should be able to choose between say a sword, staff, or bow (gun wouldn’t really fit the lore of the quest). It took me about 15-20 minutes to actually kill him so I’ll give you a tip. When getting to him, don’t worry about the risen, just run there asap. Use signet of spite and power of blood as utilities, 3rd doesn’t really matter. Basically its just a matter of using your ranged utilities and doing as much damage as possible with the sword each time your heal is up, then hide behind the tower (the one right behind him) until your abilities are off CD, rinse and repeat.

Awful, awful design

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Posted by: Arc.1425

Arc.1425

I think tuning in general for certain story quests is still a bit off. Most of them are fairly easy and simplistic but every once in a while there’s one that absolutely kicks you in the soft spot. Some person was whining in /m about how hard their quest was so I helped out to pacify the situation and help the ‘noob’…and Jeez was that obnoxiously difficult! They had every right to complain it turned out because about seven hard-hitting enemies were thrown at her.

I was going to be all dismissive about how you should ‘just deal with it’…but yeah, Imma trust you on this Iron.

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Posted by: Andele.1306

Andele.1306

a) minion masters, for the time at least, plain suck, going offensive/corruption utility spells helps much more
b) Kite!
Yes it might be a generic reply, but every really hard hitting enemy is melee till around level 65~ and even then they have clear attack animations to dodge (that rule is kinda excluded in dungeons but w/e)
c) is your gear up to the level of the dungeon and are you running it underleveled?
Makes a pretty big difference in personal story.

When life gives you lemon, ask if its from a anime or manga.

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Posted by: AdamLiborio.8436

AdamLiborio.8436

I remember that quest. As a generally longbow ranger I also found it a little unnerving to have to resort to melee combat. I do recall spamming the lightning skill (skill 2 i think) cause it was ranged and would bounce between enemies. So basically I would do a lot of that and kite like hell when they were swarming me. Thankfully I had snares to help me out with keeping them off me.

But I am noticing that some of the story quests aren’t that easy to solo anymore. I’m not in the level 55 range and the last couple of quests I’ve been barely alive at any moment and having to constantly move to the point where I can barely use a longbow and have to resort to shortbow or axes. The Risen are a pain in the neck in the last few missions I’ve had to do.

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Posted by: Shiro.6841

Shiro.6841

a) minion masters, for the time at least, plain suck, going offensive/corruption utility spells helps much more
b) Kite!
Yes it might be a generic reply, but every really hard hitting enemy is melee till around level 65~ and even then they have clear attack animations to dodge (that rule is kinda excluded in dungeons but w/e)
c) is your gear up to the level of the dungeon and are you running it underleveled?
Makes a pretty big difference in personal story.

I think you’ve missed the point. This specific story quest forces you to use a sword, kind of like an enviromental weapon, except you can’t unequip it. While it does still have a ranged attack, it doesn’t have anything for kiting effectively and most of the attacks are melee. Also, the fact that you’re using unfamiliar skills that you’ve never used before and don’t even know how they work.

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Posted by: Olkyr.4821

Olkyr.4821

So this is now a bug rather than just terrible design? Good to know if I ever want a sylvari mesmer or ele.

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Posted by: IronHide.2176

IronHide.2176

a) minion masters, for the time at least, plain suck, going offensive/corruption utility spells helps much more
I find that they don’t heal themselves like the golem to be a big downfall especially when there is no minions healing spell like GW1. It’s probably too late an Anet probably isn’t going to change it. But that’s for a different thread.

(edited by IronHide.2176)

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Posted by: EsLafiel.4517

EsLafiel.4517

I’m a mesmer and I had no prob with this quest at all.

Was very easy one.

The aoe knockback and knockdown, for when enemies get to close. Which both have short cooldown. Then the numebr 2 that have no cooldown on it and is long rang.

So I kite them with that and knockdown/back when they got to close. Almost never was hit, found it way to easy.

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Posted by: Sigurd.3164

Sigurd.3164

Even as a Guardian I had trouble with this quest. Maybe I could have handled it if I had my normal weapons, but you’re forced to use your new weapon, and I think even your specific class mechanics are disabled. Just a really annoying story quest, after I failed it once I just asked in mapchat for people to help.

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Posted by: Demented Lemur.7861

Demented Lemur.7861

I remember that quest i it was the only mission i actually got pretty mad at i gave up on doing by myslef and had a friend help and it made a huge difference i hate it took me out of my playstyle as a cc thief and i found that it was trying to force me to change my playstyle

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Posted by: Deinonychus.1498

Deinonychus.1498

The number two slot attack has no cooldown, with a 1200 range iirc… How far or close is melee again? Just set that to auto attack and BAM you’re sorted…

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Posted by: elizabeth.6834

elizabeth.6834

My recommendation on this personal story quest would be to totally ignore the undead and just forus on the litch. I failed enormously at this twice as I was trying to deal with all the undead, but I got through the third time by using the above tactic.

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Posted by: Acaelus Thorne.3862

Acaelus Thorne.3862

You are missing the point of the story. i play that quest too but was a ranger and the sword was about your race and how powerful the sword was and how it meant to you people.

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Posted by: Sirendo.6753

Sirendo.6753

Do you have friends, guild mates, random adventurer near you. Hell tell me on what server shard you are and I’ll come help you m8, got nothing else to do anyways.

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Posted by: Xenigma.4305

Xenigma.4305

The balancing on the Lich quests is definitely off. I did the Priory one where you encounter the Lich in his crypt, which meant fighting him and other Risen with Caladbolg in a tiny room. As a Ranger, I had to completely respec to traps simply to have a chance, and with my pet disabled I also had the fun problem of having a downed 3 skill that doesn’t do anything whatsoever. He hits hard, can’t be kited well, has decently tough Risen with him, and attacks quick enough that dodging is impractical. It’s not impossible, admittedly, but it is far harder than it needs to be for a level ~30 story quest.

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Posted by: SarahWitter.2317

SarahWitter.2317

I am playing a sylvari Necromancer minion master with a Staff. I get to the story mission where I have to fight the Lich while the centaurs fight the undead. I don’t know who designed this but clearly they thought that only Gaurdians or Warriors were going to do this quest. It forces you to use a sword that doesn’t even have good attacks or powers. As a Necromancer who uses his minions to take the brunt of the damage this means that I am now completely out of my element. I have tried all the different options of utility spells but since they are all minion spells and I’m being gang banged by six different undead brutes plus the lich without my staff to support the minions that means I am kitten. I tried using other unlocks I have but nothing works and now all my armor is broken and I have to restart it. I can’t get past this quest as it currently is, this ladies and gentlemen is a badly designed quest.

Hello IronHide,

Can you please give some more specifics as to which step this is or the level? What Order did you select? Off the top of my head, I think you may be fighting Mazdak, does that sound correct?

We can have someone check into that once we know a little bit more.

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback.

~Sarah

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Posted by: BladeOfLuxon.7896

BladeOfLuxon.7896

I played it as a Ranger, and it was cake.

The point is, that sword is what you need to destroy the Lich. Plain and simple. The lightening attack is the main one you should focus on, using the others to CC if they close into melee range. Done properly, you could actually stand outside of the cemetery and let whatever faction you are helping do the meatshielding.

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Posted by: Eki.9841

Eki.9841

I may have chosen another path, so this might not apply, but:

The lich sucks at aiming. By putting skill 2 on auto attack, keeping your distance, and just running back and forth (and not changing direction just as he fires), you’ll wither him down. Of course, his minions have to be dead. Lure them away, and all that stuff. He only summoned new minions once in my battle. By keeping your distance, the lich almost exclusively uses his ranged attack (which, if my tip actually applies for you, will miss). Get too close and he’ll Fear you and probably do other nasty stuff as well. I died SO many times on this mission; one or two more deaths and I would’ve given up because too much of my armor was gone.

I do agree that the sword could use some polishing, but I understand why it’s there. Maybe make it profession specific?

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Posted by: Eyrika.8625

Eyrika.8625

The lich sucks at aiming. By putting skill 2 on auto attack, keeping your distance, and just running back and forth (and not changing direction just as he fires), you’ll wither him down.

This is what I did as an elementalist to complete this quest (using the ranged attack on auto, strafing back and forth).
Sure…. you can complete the quest that way… But it takes forever and is incredibly boring :\ I enjoy the difficulty of this game, but sometimes I just don’t understand what is intended for you to do on some of these quests.

“The flame legion can die in a fire!”
“…they might like that.”

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Posted by: Anka.3675

Anka.3675

I am playing a sylvari Necromancer minion master with a Staff. I get to the story mission where I have to fight the Lich while the centaurs fight the undead. I don’t know who designed this but clearly they thought that only Gaurdians or Warriors were going to do this quest. It forces you to use a sword that doesn’t even have good attacks or powers. As a Necromancer who uses his minions to take the brunt of the damage this means that I am now completely out of my element. I have tried all the different options of utility spells but since they are all minion spells and I’m being gang banged by six different undead brutes plus the lich without my staff to support the minions that means I am kitten. I tried using other unlocks I have but nothing works and now all my armor is broken and I have to restart it. I can’t get past this quest as it currently is, this ladies and gentlemen is a badly designed quest.

Hello IronHide,

Can you please give some more specifics as to which step this is or the level? What Order did you select? Off the top of my head, I think you may be fighting Mazdak, does that sound correct?

We can have someone check into that once we know a little bit more.

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback.

~Sarah

Just had issues with this one myself the other day. It is indeed Mazdak, “A tangle of roots” perhaps? The first quest you get as you choose Order of Whispers. I think that unless you are used to kiting like mad it is rather hard. (And even then it can be bothersome).
My biggest issue as a thief was that when I stealthed after healing if I were the last man standing (which I often was, the only one of my NPC allies that stood up for more then a minute being Traherne) Mazdak would reset. That meant I’d have to deal with all those adds that he spawned in at 25% health again, after clearing them once (or twice, or thrice) allready.

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Posted by: Orenj.6503

Orenj.6503

I’m another player of a Sylvari necro who was frustrated with this step. Like IronHide, I had chosen to go with the Order of Whispers’ plan, to pit the undead against the centaurs while we tackled Mazdak…

…only to realize all my normal weapon skills were gone, I couldn’t switch weapons, and I couldn’t even switch to shroud of death, one of the core abilities of necro. I wanted to take that darn sword and pitch it into the Forge.

Sometimes the transformations in the game are pretty cool; for example the story step where (if you go with the Priory’s plan) you pilot golems to free the Ascalon settlement. But this, the forced negation of most of the skills that make your class unique when your character is actually your character, incredibly annoying.

Also, the NPCs didn’t help; I’d get near a mob and want to pull it out to try to tackle them one at a time, and the NPCs would go charging in and get the whole group riled up. Since I’ve been given point on this mission, maybe they ought to follow my lead? I realize they’re individuals, characters I don’t control, but I can’t imagine “charging in headlong like a fool” is among the character traits that got them this far in life…

I eventually had to drag in a friend to help me complete this step.

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Posted by: Kagoshima Josh.5412

Kagoshima Josh.5412

No no no no. Please don’t nerf this quest. I did this as a Ranger choosing the Priory method (fight Mazdak in his tomb) and had to use the sword. This was one my favorite personal story quests due to the challenge. I was kiting him around, using pillars to LOS, using all skills offered by the sword and still barely got him.

All in all, a very fun and memorable quest.

Arnold is Numero Uno

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Posted by: CapitalistRoark.2953

CapitalistRoark.2953

The only part I didn’t enjoy about the sword and quest in general is that it took away the use of my virtues as a guardian.

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Posted by: Cake.2064

Cake.2064

I have to agree with the TC. My Mazdak quest is Dead of Winter, and this has to be one of the most unnecessarily difficult quests I’ve ever had the misfortune of doing. It’s bad enough that the traps are incredibly strong and one mistake can kill you (or your allies; Caithe died on the spike trap and I couldn’t revive her without getting myself killed), but the monsters hit so. Freaking. Hard. I agree that whoever designed this quest had to have completely forgotten about caster classes. You know, the squishy people? I understand that warriors and guardians are popular, but it’s hardly fair to just throw EVERY class into a melee situation.The final and hardest slap in the face was being forced to use the weakest “epic” sword ever.

Not only are you thrown into the fight without being given a chance to at least go over your new skills, it barely even dents Mazdaks’ HP. I actually face-palmed when I whacked him with it and it did about as much damage as a stick. THIS is what all the fuss was about? Riannoc would have gotten owned with or without the sword, it’s terrible and the Pale Tree should be ashamed and embarrassed. Also, why do your allies do absolutely no damage? They’re slightly helpful during the previous quests, but I think this is the first quest where they’re completely useless.

Thanks to those who offered tips and advice, I’ll definitely be giving them a try. Hopefully I can get past this awful quest tonight.

(edited by Cake.2064)

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Posted by: Hendever.6043

Hendever.6043

I remember doing this one as Order of Whispers. I think I had a minor heart attack upon arriving in the story and realising my pet was missing. I was specced primarily into Beastmastery and my only elite skill was Rampage as One. I eventually got the hang of the sword and did ok, killed Mazdak without too much trouble while my fern hound, I dunno, went to a spa or something. Lazy bum.

Fun quest.

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Posted by: Seeker.1453

Seeker.1453

I believe the fight with Mazdak to generally unfun.

I have tried the Vigil and Priory version of the fight, with the Vigil version beeing slightly easier in my oppinion.


Considering that the weapon you get to use is kinda the Excalibur of this story it is just – in all honestly – god awful. In my oppinion it is as lame as Trahearne – what a nice fit.

What i find most annoying in that regard is that the sword isnt special at all. Story wise it should set the base for establishing the sword is a meowing awsome thing to have against the undead and it should make the fight easier not harder.

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Posted by: Gailrin.1384

Gailrin.1384

Necromancer here, had this same issue as well, tried every utility setup I could think of and only managed to beat him while downed with only a small fraction of health. I was unable to death shroud, most of my abilities to kite are tied to my weapons, asides from the rigor mortis tied to my bone fiend. Originally ran as a support build once that proved to be failing, I leveled 10 levels to unlock minion abilities and other skills, even then I was finding myself easily defeated. I would often LoS to kite him around pillars and the door frame forcing him to run around after me, eventually I was able to finally beat him, but only barely.

This was the Dead of Winter chain versus Mazdak.

*Edit, needed to mention I also unlocked and used my elite skills.

Wanted to include the setups I went with.
For the first setup I used my main dungeon build which is heavy wells/support/marks, I ran with Darkness for a Blind, Suffering for Damage/Vuln, kept, my first elite was Plague for the stability on fear. Wells with my trait also give protection, reason I did not use spectral wall. The Suffering well/Plague elite was also extremely helpful for burning the additional adds that would spawn after the fight had started <— This I found sort of odd, there were adds at the beginning of the room when you first enter (Those could be Attacked/LoSed out and killed without pulling Mazdak), however the additional adds that spawned after engaging Mazdak sort of seemed overkill for the fight.

For the second build, I used Minions, mainly for Rigor Mortis / Immobilize on the bone fiend and hoping the extra damage would be useful while running my tail end off around corners to LoS. For the elite I used Flesh Golem hoping the extra charge would help. This build did help quite a bit (mainly for damage since he has Defiant which makes him near unCCable, but anyways I would loose my stability and would often eat fears/damage. I did not opt for Spectral armor since I cannot go into Death Shroud.

My traits were Blood Magic (Tier 2 maxed) with various points in Death/Curses.

When not trying to keep myself from dying, I would often spam the offensive ability on Mazdak (second if I was distanced somewhat away) or the knock back on the sword for add set that would spawn.

This was also done alone not using a glass canon build.

At one point I was so desperate I tried to lead him into the spike room.

**Sorry for all the edits, trying to provide as much information as possible on my own personal experience regarding this issue and the steps/measures I had taken.

(edited by Gailrin.1384)

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Posted by: Shael.4703

Shael.4703

I echo the other players here in that it was made as is, to use a weapon you do not know because well, lore-wise you really do not have any information about the sword.

Secondly, again lore-wise, it was about getting back the sword, and you as the “hero” gets a taste of the sword and figure out yourself what’s so special about the sword that it led to the treachery of this human.

I did it as a ranger and had no problems with it. Friends of mine who are necromancers had no problems with it either. It is just a matter of being able to adjust and adapt your strategy.

I admit, I almost died because “wth, how do you use this?” I changed my style, adapted, and won.

My blog/sites: gameshogun & Tomes of Knowledge

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Posted by: jeltzz.9512

jeltzz.9512

I did it as a thief and just got belted over and over. the sword pretty much made my play-style impossible, and the sword abilities just didn’t cut it. In the end I had to quit and come back with a guild member, and then it was suddenly a cake walk. the value of friends.

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Posted by: riku.2091

riku.2091

I had issues, mostly because the first time I went in I had no clue I’d loose my pet, and didn’t realize he was gone until I was already fighting. All my utilities were pet-based. My secret to winning? Traps as AoE aid against risen, and sharpen blade to apply bleed. My biggest problems were: lack of pet and lack of condition damage.

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Posted by: Sylentir.8913

Sylentir.8913

When I did the Whispers method of dealing with Mazdak as a Guardian (I know, odd choice), I was irritated to find that using the sword also robbed me of my Virtues. Missing them, the regeneration one in particular, made the fight much more difficult for me than any other story chapter I completed so far.

Talia Gallowglass [Few] ~ Sylvari Engineer Main
Ferguson’s Crossing

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Posted by: nenosronhir.3658

nenosronhir.3658

Did this quest as an Elementalist at (IIRC) just under the required level. It was tough, sure, but completely doable. As a few people have mentioned, it’s just a matter of kiting/getting used to the abilities the sword gives off.

I think I mostly ignored the undead up to the lich; dealt with the adds in the graveyard while Caithe and Trahearne kept Mazdak occupied. I died maybe twice, took the time to revive Caithe (Trahearne was still alive) and beat Mazdak down. Overall I really loved the quest – I’d done the Priory mission prior to this one, when youget to spend the last few minutes with Riannoc, and this was the perfect way to wrap up that storyline, IMO.

Suinidios ~ Sylvari Elementalist

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Posted by: Isende.2607

Isende.2607

I am playing a sylvari Necromancer minion master with a Staff. I get to the story mission where I have to fight the Lich while the centaurs fight the undead. I don’t know who designed this but clearly they thought that only Gaurdians or Warriors were going to do this quest. It forces you to use a sword that doesn’t even have good attacks or powers. As a Necromancer who uses his minions to take the brunt of the damage this means that I am now completely out of my element. I have tried all the different options of utility spells but since they are all minion spells and I’m being gang banged by six different undead brutes plus the lich without my staff to support the minions that means I am kitten. I tried using other unlocks I have but nothing works and now all my armor is broken and I have to restart it. I can’t get past this quest as it currently is, this ladies and gentlemen is a badly designed quest.

Hello IronHide,

Can you please give some more specifics as to which step this is or the level? What Order did you select? Off the top of my head, I think you may be fighting Mazdak, does that sound correct?

We can have someone check into that once we know a little bit more.

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback.

~Sarah

thanks for listing the name of the boss, THIS is the one i posted elsewhere about!!! i ended up having to get aid for it. basically, you’re able to get mazdak down to around 25-30ish%, and he calls in backup. the backup swarm you, and as a clothie? there’s just not much to swarm! you’re doing your best to run around a very small area and not be hit … i tried the kb/kd features on the sword, but they weren’t effective beyond melee range, and in melee range, it doesn’t take many hits from three or more mobs before i’m on my back trying to rally. i tried the lightning, but it just didn’t do enough damage to keep them off of me. tried the whirling bit, but cd on it? pft.

i think tuning mobs that swarm you, ESPECIALLY after they’ve eaten all your allies’ faces and you’re standing there alone, in cloth, needs to be looked at. and i’ll cover all the caveats — i don’t want a zergfest, i utilize dodge as often and cannily as possible, i had all my utility spells rotating out trying to find the best fit. still ended up naked twice before i called in reinforcements in disgust.

edit also need to comment, on this character i’m attempting to do all her story quests AT level, which means she was level 28, no elite spells. yes, it’s a personal thing, i didn’t follow that with my other two. but that’s the goal. if a quest is designed for level 28, then it should be doable by a level 28.

apparently, reading above, there are people who are just much smarter than i am in kiting, etc. ;-)

(edited by Isende.2607)

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Posted by: DeXyre.6025

DeXyre.6025

Was an annoying fight as an elementalist too, because the utility skill that depend on attunement were ‘stuck’ in the attunement you used when you entered the personal story. Meaning pretty much all of the glyphs couldn’t be used in the element you actually wanted.