Guild Wars 2

Today a group that was formed in LFG recently has finally beaten the Vale Guardian and we had 1:11 left on the clock

Thanks to:

Sayo
Möh
Jules
Ria
Paladin Josh
Ghorbak
Cura
Obsidian Chris
Fenix

It was a really nice run in the end after many failed attempts, but we stuck together and it was amazing with everyone screaming in TS when it finally died. The attempt before hand we had it at 1% health and we all wiped so we was really on edge for the entire encounter.

This is definitely the most fun I have had in GW2 since release

Congrats – that first time always feels the best !

Very cool! I’m curious what change you made that made such a big difference (from a wipe at 1% to winning with over a minute left).

We made a few changes in phase 5, phase 1 to 4 always had near perfect communication and movement which became a problem in phase 5.

In the failed attempts the boss was simply not moved quick enough causing green to spawn on a little section. So:

The most important change was when we assigned someone to call when to move the boss, this would sometimes be 4 seconds before section change as it is easier to survive and it ensures green will spawn in a newly unlit segment.

I permanently ran facet of chaos and staff so we had protections and cc was always ready to be instant.

We had decided also that if green spawns in lit, we would stack on the unlit and pop protections / heal instead of chasing it, but with the massively improved movement of the boss we didn’t need to do this and no one downed in phase 5.

Everyone did a brilliant job. The key is communication and movement, having the right DPS is the easy part

Real PUGs don’t use TS.

Misguided.5139:

Very cool! I’m curious what change you made that made such a big difference (from a wipe at 1% to winning with over a minute left).

Time hasn’t been an issue for us, the 1% wipe has also been around 1:00 ~ 0:50 left on the timer, but at that point many people have died and the rest couldn’t keep the focus.

tbh … all the fame and all the glory is up to the only Asura in the raid!

I also noticed this lack of movement and communication in phase5 in vários groups ive been part of. Thx for the tip

Another tip, whilst not at a necessary, you can get 25 stacks of bloodlust from pocket raptors to the right of Vale guardian if you want more DPS. Our phase 1 was done by 6:45 in our win, with bloodlust I expect it can be done in under 1 minute. The more time you have at phase 5 the less pressure you feel allowing you to focus and make less mistakes

Shush Fenix, we all know it was only due to the many humans
Honestly though, we were 2 guildies in the beginning and found the rest of the guys via lfg system. And after enough tries, good movement of the tank and a really decent first phase average of 6:40 we finally did it
Most important things are the tanks movement+the healer’s timing. Combined with good dps it works. And some (or maybe even most) of us were not in ascended armor.

I’ve been trying to beat Vale Guardian many times, 1st phase we did it in 5,00~5,30 minutes (please tell how do you get to 6,30 min…).
My team used this strategy, 5 player focus on vale guardian, 5 on green, when needed; we successfully dodged blue teleportation, and used mushrooms…phase 2 about 4,00-4,30 min clear, we kill 6 ppl blue guard, 3 red guard, then 7 ppl kill green guard.
Phase 3 we circle with vale guardian, then we have to cc him, when suddenly the green circle appears, but only 2 of us are concentrating on that, every time, no mater in what team I am at,( in phase 3 there is a rotation, and after a time they forgot the green circle…)
But the question is time…they see the timer is low, and they loose it… so please give me some tips how to be better and get the phase 1 done in max 2 min..
I have to tell you, we used 5 ppl on green circle, because somehow there are team mates who get downed in phase one… and should we use 5 people in phase 3 to go to green circle?!
( The DPS is pretty good, I don’t see the main source of problem, I have mid range auto attack about 6k and every 6 seconds 23-25k dmg, with greatsword 23-28k dmg, auto attack about 6-8k dmg)

Hmm, we actually had an average timer of 6.40 for the first phase (once split him at 6.51).
We split 3 for red, 3 for green, 4 for blue. Finished those around 5.30-40ish.
Afterwards our Chronotank moved the boss really well, always going in the field ahead of time.
For the green fields we had 4 people. 2 Condi Engies, one condi Berserker and the druid for heal. If one of us couldn’t make it we called for backup which often came from either a tempest ele or one of our revenants.
I think one of the important things is not going down in the green circles. Your healer has to time it so that he keeps the people in the circle up. You always get dmg while standing in there so make sure you’re not too low.
Another tip I can give you is that if you should put people the raid worked well with on your fl. That’s basically how we formed our “Kittens Gonna Die [Meow]” raid squad If you try it often enough you get a decent base.

Great job! Posts like yours are so important right now, because there is a lot of commotion in forums that raids can only be accomplished with a narrow selection of the best gear and only certain skill sets. I turned off map chat because I was tired of seeing it in Verdant Brink.
Sure, there’s a baseline for both skill and gear, but beyond that, player persistence, learning and practice will lead to positive results, as your accomplishment clearly shows!
I suspect you also had a great deal of fun into the bargain, and I have personally found that having fun trying ultimately makes the experience that much more worthwhile. Having a positive attitude toward others trying to learn, or who may not have your experience, pays off HUGE dividends in the game.

Again, congratulations to all of you!

I had the same idea, 3 condi and the healer on green circle, but nobody listen to me…
and more question, phase 3: again 4 people on green, and if need call 1 backup?
Healer was druid and used zerker gear, or other gear?
( If possible, what professions were used? Here I just care to see if the dps really maters or not… )
Thank you!

Uuuuh, let me see.
The green circle team was the same throughout the entire fight. I was playing a Condi Engie, so I was part of that one.
The main problem in my opinion happens when there’s a seeker spawning in it and your druid or the engies don’t knock it out fast enough. That’ll kill you very fast. Otherwise, pay attention to your health, if you go into the green field while you’re too low the damage you receive will definitely down you.
Also, we decided that we would ignore green fields that spawn in lit-up areas during phase 3 and 5, instead we wanted to huddle around the boss and let the revs pop protection while the druid heals.
Thanks to the movement of our tank we didn’t get to really test that theory, but it should be possible.
Professionwise we were:
2 Condi Engineers
2 Revenants/Heralds
1 Condi War
1 Druid
1 Tempest
1 Dragon Hunter
1 PS Berserker
1 Chronomancer

Since the Chrono was our tank we had a toughness cap of around 1630. I think the druid was full cleric when he first went in with us and ended up with a lot of zerker stuff (which honestly didn’t impair his healing that much).
I’m not entirely sure what he was running, I can ask him though if you’d really want to know.

LordOtto.2650:

I’ve been trying to beat Vale Guardian many times, 1st phase we did it in 5,00~5,30 minutes (please tell how do you get to 6,30 min…).

There are 2 things you can do to improve your damage/time during phase 1:

-have your tank pull the boss into the corner of the pylon (we started in blue segment) and stay there, so your melee DD´s can do their rotation without having to move(only dodge blue attack).

-don’t attack the boss until it is in position, so the timer wont start early, thus you will save some time before you can dps.

Some main points

- I run full ascended on my Herald, but that doesn’t matter, there were many people in our group without ascended armor and some even without ascended weapons and we had a time of 1:11 left.

So a shout out to the “Gear check elitists” in other topics of this sub-forum the reason you’re not doing it in time is because the movement is poor. “Best in stat” doesn’t matter if you’re all dead because you failed to move the boss or get to a lightning circle on time.

Full ascended and bloodlust stacks from the raptors – sure, this is probably the people you see with 3 minutes left on the clock that want to speed clear, but for now let’s focus on helping groups actually kill it and have fun.

Positioning:

Your tank will run in and take agro, whilst the other 9 players wait OUTSIDE the arena. The tank does NOT strike the boss, the boss will follow and use the TP skill on ONLY the tank, meaning no one can get teleported.

Once the boss is chasing the tank, the other 9 run to the mushroom at the blue pillar, when the tank has secured the boss facing away from the raid you may attack and the timer will begin, with the first green circle and seekers and the next teleport attack to come pretty much straight after you engage.

My Herald guide to the VG

As for damage, 2 Heralds (and a PS warrior) = permanent 25 might and fury.

During phase 1, both heralds want to start in Glint and pop all facets except the elite to give party wide might and fury. As soon as the timer begins, swap to shiro > impossible odds. At this point you should be hugging the mushroom at the blue pillar with the bosses back in front of you, standing here you can simply back peddle when the blue spawns beneath your feet. You have 2 seconds to back peddle, you should still be in melee range whilst back peddle so you do not stop damaging him.

When IO runs out, you will have 1 second approx until Glint is ready, pop the healing dagger skill prior to changing to glint for extra DPS. Pop all facets except elite, by this time the teleport attack should about be ready to drop under your feet again. Heralds should be using Sword 3 (evade frames) to do max DPS (only when in GLINT) on the boss whilst other professions may have to dodge or backpeddle. Axe 4 also has evade frames but it is not as long lasting and if you time it wrong, you’re kittened. Remember only use sword 3 when in glint, as in shiro you always want to be using IO for the maximum time possible for your 50% energy, which is why we don’t pop the healing skill till after IO is complete prior to being able to switch back to glint.

Repeat the above process until the boss is at 66%.

The herald will either then be at BLUE or GREEN (decided by your group). Start in glint to give your split buffs, swap to shiro > IO > healing dagger > Glint > Swap to STAFkittentaff 5 (almost instant CC) > Swap to SWORD/AXE (all 3 should die at the same time)

If you are at BLUE and green needs help, move to green.

If the CC is high in your group, you want to maintain the same DPS rotation as in phase 1 without using staff at all. If your group needs extra CC, swap back to staff when the boss is on the edge of the green segment and has his breakbar up. It is important during Phase 3 that he is broken within 3-4 seconds, but it is good practice for phase 5 to instant-break the bar.

Keep your DPS rotation and swap to staff when necessary for CC

Phase 4 is the same as Phase 2, run to your split segment

Phase 5, 1 Herald (for safety) should permanently be in GLINT and permanently have STAFF. Instead of your standard facet pop, you only pop facet of chaos (for protection) and you will always be using staff 5 for CC. It is also good for this person (which was me) to call out when the tank should move to the next segment to ensure that the green circle always spawns where you want it. The second herald should mantain there DPS rotation unless the group absolutely needs raid wide protection.

(Needs attention so posts as well – Also is the kittank of this group of awesome people)
For tanks: Your first few attemts will most likely hurt. A lot. Your healer will most likely also hate you for dropping like a fly.
Once you get used to the timing of the bosses attacks you will see progress.
Noting a few things that helped me. Your personal experience may vary.

== BUILD ==

For my build, little improvements made my job an aweful lot easier.
The build I used
(was using Scholar rune at the time.. but Chronorune is just freakin awesome.)

Persistence of Memory is a beast. Shatter your clones after blocking (mostly while in “blurred frenzy” and you basicaly have around 80% block/evadeframes.
Remember: With my build you need to shatter with 2 skills so your illusions are killed and give you the recharge!

Signet of Ether Helps to keep your health up, because you will basically have permanent uptime of 3 illusions (sometimes maybe a clone) and the passive effect refreshes all illusion-summoning-skills. And – guess what – your block is such an illusion-summoning-skill. Even more block uptime.

Mental Defense is the reason why you will have 3 illusions at all times. It’s awesome and eats damage you (or your DD’s) would take.

== ENCOUNTER ==
Phase 1

Face that thing away from your group. seriously.
If Vale guardian is not a gigantic kitten you can time your block to always hit his attacks with a roation like:
Echo of Memory -> Deja Vu -> Blurred Frenzy -> mind wrack + cry of frustration
(Evade blue cirlces (teleports) as needed with dodges, distortion or well of precog)

Distortion and Well of Precognition (sometimes mimic’ed) can be incorporated into the rotation but I decided to leave those off cooldown to safe some butts. Remember: Distortion will be spread around you in a radius of 300, however your go-to butt-saving skill will be Precognition.

Situations like that would be: Teleportion fields or seekers inside of green circles or generally near the DD’s positions. (2 seekers can wipe your friends really really easily when there are no knockbacks available at the time)

Phase 2 – Split

No question: blue. Your Auto Attack strips boons. Enough said.
Build up illusions/clones (3) but else focus on Auto Attacking. You want to get that invulerability off the Miniboss as fast as possible.
Break with Diversion if needed, move on to the Green boss

Phase 3 – Circling

Start in the red third near the border to the green.
Shout at people for standing in front of the boss and getting their butts cleaved.
Move as soon as the lit up area changes (keeping the boss as steady as possible maximes DPS!) In this phase people can stay behind to go into the green if necessary, you don’t need to go into the next third however it cuts walking time to spawn the green thingy in the right circle which can also provide a boost in DPS

Phase 4 – Split again
see Phase 2

Phase 5
Circling again, now 2 lit up zones
Start at the red third near the border to the green third again.
Move early! count to around 16 or 17, then move.

Remember: your illusions will stick to the boss! Run ahead when he is in the breakbar phase and position near the next border. Break with Distortion.

Phase 6
Take a screenshot in front of the chest and get your bad loot.

== Counting ==

It helped that different people counted different things as well:
Lightning Circles (green): Spawn every 15 seconds and got a 6 second telegraph.
Blue Circles: Spawn every 10 seconds and got a 2 second telegraph
Lit up Areas: Change every 20 seconds (move in at around 16-17s)
Breakbar Phase: every 30 seconds (should be broken in 2-3 for smooth boss-movement)

== Most valuable hint I can give: ==

Have fun. Can’t stress that enough.
If you don’t think it’s fun you will be bad and not beat it.
Joke around between fights and get a good feeling inside your group. Drink a lot of water to keep concentration up, let some air in and have a good time with people ^-^

kill kittens, resurrect kittens, repeat
Also: #blamejosh

Mookanik-Breakdown: for copy-pasting
Enrage: 8 minutes

Phase 1 (100% health)
RED field: Seeker Orbs: 20s interval, near each pilon, moving towards players (CC-able)(chase for 15s)
GREEN field: Lightning Circles: 15s interval, 6 second telegraph, 4! players (downed don’t count)
BLUE field: Teleport Circles 10s interval, 2 second telegraph, displace randomly

Phase 2 (66% health)
RED: Condition players
GREEN: physical DPS
BLUE: 4+ physical DPS (need boonstrip)

Phase 3 (66% health)
Same as Phase 1
+ Danger Zones (20s interval)(starting G → B → R)
+ Breakbar Phases (30s interval)(~3s breaktime)

Phase 4 (33% health)
= Phase 2

Phase 5 (33% health)
Same as Phase 3
+ Danger Zones (20s interval)(starting G+B → B+R → R+G )

IF Lightning Circle in Danger Zone => Group up => Protection => Heal
IF Boss in Danger Zone => don’t break. ranged dps.