Guild Wars 2

I have never seen such a horribly designed frustration fest. Every stage of the fractal results in multiple full wipes, with the Thaumnova anomaly resulting in 10s of them. And this was at difficulty scale 11. Took OVER HALF AN OUR JUST TO BEAT THE ANOMALY, and that win was mostly by attrition and luck with the disappearing platforms.

Boogiepop Void.6473:

I have never seen such a horribly designed frustration fest. Every stage of the fractal results in multiple full wipes, with the Thaumnova anomaly resulting in 10s of them. And this was at difficulty scale 11. Took OVER HALF AN OUR JUST TO BEAT THE ANOMALY, and that win was mostly by attrition and luck with the disappearing platforms.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Thaumanova_Reactor_Fractal

http://gw2dungeons.net/F15

the only horrible design at the endboss is, that you can’t really see the starsmashes.
since you can see through the plattform and everything below (more to the center) is really lightend up, this attack can’t be seen really good and also there are no aoe indicators for it. so you really have to look arround if one of these white balls go down in the near.

everything else is a “learn to play” issue. get some exp. how to do things fast and efficient or how to carry your group.

like a mesmer can portal the whole group up to the first console without fighting anything (just blick up from below), he can solo heatroom (well, most classes can do this, just check some videos), he can solo the other room with 4 consoles (not even needed, if the group can communicate and everyone says where they go and what they do) and well, the rest is pretty easy.

the whole fractal is pretty easy. if the boss took half an hour to beat it on level 11, then something was greatly wrong on the whole groups build setup.
nomads gear is the wrong way to do fractals.

Yeah, my only real problem with Thaumanova is the super bright light below the boss platform. Otherwise it’s fine

I do wish the cannon room was a bit easier. Those cannons fire way too fast. Unless you know the safe spots and your way around it takes a long time trying to figure it out. Other than that it’s fine.

cptaylor.2670:

I do wish the cannon room was a bit easier. Those cannons fire way too fast. Unless you know the safe spots and your way around it takes a long time trying to figure it out. Other than that it’s fine.

Use the shield. The cool down should be low enough that you can use it for every blast. Even if not, you can time a dodge instead.

Are you and your team new to fractals?
IMO, in T1, that one and Mai Trinh are the most punishing when you’re not familiar with the mechanics. It becomes a lot easier when you get used to it.

In regards to the disappearing floor, there’s not much luck involved, but you need to be aware of everyone’s movement; the goal is to not only avoid falling yourself, but also avoid running in such a way that your teammates fall. E.g if you’ve got the bomb, don’t run towards your friend or strand them on an island.

I agree on your issues. I already have a big post on the problems

I have a few tips from expierience that may help you:

- Communicate your movement in the Boss Fight with your group. Decide a direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise) and stick to it. Spread out as far as you can before engaging.
- Start with the strongest attacks you have. Since the Anomaly does not attack until you actively hit it, you can position and setup very percisely before engaging into the fight. Attacks like Hundred blades, Meteor shower, a well-spike can burst the anomaly to 50% health with minimum risk of losing players early.
- If you can: switch to a ranged weapon. Having more than two melee attackers makes the fight exponentially difficult for them, since they have to be so close to each other.

Good Luck

subject 6 is the only part I don’t like

well, I also wish it were easier to see everything in the anomaly fight

Not really hard. And level 11 is a cakewalk. Usually takes 10-15mins and zero to one wipes. Learn the mechanics and don’t complain as always in this forum.

Boogiepop Void.6473:

I have never seen such a horribly designed frustration fest. Every stage of the fractal results in multiple full wipes, with the Thaumnova anomaly resulting in 10s of them. And this was at difficulty scale 11. Took OVER HALF AN OUR JUST TO BEAT THE ANOMALY, and that win was mostly by attrition and luck with the disappearing platforms.

If you thought 11 was hard, wait until you get to 97. That being said, it’s one of those fractals where you need to know how thigns work. Can’t rush stuff down and expect to win like Urban Battleground or Uncategorized.

cptaylor.2670:

I do wish the cannon room was a bit easier. Those cannons fire way too fast. Unless you know the safe spots and your way around it takes a long time trying to figure it out. Other than that it’s fine.

Knowing the safe spots is part of the learning process.

There are enough guides out there on all fractals, Ayrilana linked to some fo them.

The fractal does require a tad more knowledge than other fractals, especially with the different mechanics.

As far as the boss, the only point I’d criticise is the bright glowing light coming from the reactor makes it sometimes hard to see the platforms. Other than that, simply keep your distance to other players and don’t run wildly around. Keep an inner and outer ring for running and try not to cut off other players. Having alternative movement skills available (blink, infitrator arrow, etc.) helps if emergency repositioning is required.

It’s one of the best fractals. Unique mechanics per room, and a memorable, fun boss fight with an easy to understand gimmick.

I have taken guild members completely new to fractals and taught them reactor in half the time it takes to explain dredge.

If you’re suffering 10+ wipes at L11, it’s simply because nobody in your group is bothering to communicate and learn the encounter. With just a tiny bit of experience you’ll be trucking through it just as fast as the other ones.

Now that theres a thread, ANET please consider changing the last room encounter by blocking out the extremely bright light coming from the reactor. That thing hurts my eyes everytime I play it and thats just bad.

The only hard part is Subject 6 and if you have people who don’t understand the shield mechanic. The rest of it is fairly entertaining and so long as you know the bomb/laser part on the boss you should do fine. Best if you have reapers/druids in the party as their minions/pets can take the bomb and the laser and gives you more chances to get your larger attacks off without having to move so much.

Aeristoreine.9351:

Now that theres a thread, ANET please consider changing the last room encounter by blocking out the extremely bright light coming from the reactor. That thing hurts my eyes everytime I play it and thats just bad.

I’ll second that.

Thaumanova is still one of my favorite fractals, aside from the fact that it takes considerably more time (unless your group knows how to break into smaller groups to tackle the various challenges simultaneously). It’s mostly a matter of experience — we have a couple of people who used to sit out the final fight (they always fell or something early on) and now they make it all the way through.

(That said, I’m not against ANet dimming the light and making the floor a little less see-through — or getting rid of all the downstairs foes once the anomaly spawns.)

This is seen as one of the more well designed fractals. Once you learn how to do it quickly, it goes by fine.

One person solos heat room, mesmer or thief solos the maze or have two people do it, everyone else breaks the doors down, and you do Ooze together.
You also have the option of doing each room together as a full team if you so choose.

As for the anomaly, learn when you can melee and when you need to break off. The platforms disappear occasionally while you’re standing on them though they flash beforehand so you have time to get off. When the little exploding stars show up later on in the fight, they’ll blow up the platforms underneath them and knock you down if you’re near them.

The only thing that’s horrible is your team’s preformance if you are struggling with this fractal.

OP, I want to say that it gets better with experience.
Back in the day I was a part of many pug groups with
full wipes and 45+ minute clear times.
After learning the mechanics it is one of my favorites as
well. The final boss fight is really satisfying.

Keep at it and you will feel like a rockstar once you get the
hang of it!

Erron.5327:

OP, I want to say that it gets better with experience.
Back in the day I was a part of many pug groups with
full wipes and 45+ minute clear times.
After learning the mechanics it is one of my favorites as
well. The final boss fight is really satisfying.

Keep at it and you will feel like a rockstar once you get the
hang of it!

This was my experience as well. Was one of my least favourite fractals of all time, since Deroir’s guide it went alot better for me.
Also people are alot more experienced with the fractal than when it released.

Erron.5327:

OP, I want to say that it gets better with experience.
Back in the day I was a part of many pug groups with
full wipes and 45+ minute clear times.
After learning the mechanics it is one of my favorites as
well. The final boss fight is really satisfying.

Keep at it and you will feel like a rockstar once you get the
hang of it!

I agree with this. I remember thinking that 48 was the hardest thing I had ever done, including 50. Now I look back and realize that it was just a learning curve.

There are two things I hate about this fractal.
1. The shields don’t respawn
2. Platforms being transparent makes me blind every time I do the Anomaly. That lightning thingy under the boss is too bright and makes it hard to see anything.

When I was new to fractals, this one used to be my least fav, but honestly, this is just a “get familiar with it and it’s easy” thing. If you bring a ranged weapon and stay as far as you can from the boss, you’ll see the platforms highlightning before they disappears, and then it’s enough to move away. Unless you fall, this fight isn’t so bad. I write it as a person who gave up on her first run there, spent 30 minutes in front of the heat room, got lost in the cannons room and thought it’s impossible not to fall during the boss fight. And now, when I know the mechanics, it’s one of my fav.

If such a clumsy player as me could get used to it and like it, you can do it too, trust me

I don’t completely understand this fractal yet but I already enjoy it more than the dredge one