Guild Wars 2

Anybody done this skill point without dying? I’ve soloed her on a few different professions, but each time required suicide runs. I’d pick off Noxia, or the ravens, or a clone, then die and run all the way back from a waypoint. As far as I can tell, it’s impossible to solo at an even level without dying at least a couple times. There’s no way to dodge/mitigate, no way to kite since she’s ranged, and not many professions have much condition removal at that point, which means you’re eating most of the damage.

It’s pretty ridiculous. In total, you have to kill six ravens, two clones, Vilnia herself, and Noxia. That’s TEN mobs, and THREE veterans. Did they honestly intend this skill point to be soloed? If not, why doesn’t it say [Group Event] anywhere? I find this very disappointing. I heard Guild Wars 2 was very solo friendly, the most solo friendly MMO out there. And yeah, a lot of it is. But then you have skill points which are only possible with cheap tactics, and a “personal” story which requires a group of five to complete. Yeah, very solo friendly.

Anyway, has anybody actually done Vilnia solo without dying? I’m curious.

It can be soloed i done it solo with 4 different professions. Ele, Warrior, Ranger and Guardian… i might have done it with an Engi, but not sure i would have to check.

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

Suggestions:

• You can dodge her attacks.
• Since she is ranged melee does a lot more to her.
• Side stepping and never standing still will make 60-90% of her attacks miss.
• Take out Noxia first before engaging her. Noxia can be pulled.
• ensure your gear is not to low below your lvl

edit: when i mean side stepping i mean going back and forth fast like press D and hold D for half a sec then press A for a half a sec and do that. Once you learn to perform this skill correctly you can use it in WvW and PVP and watch as most ranged attacks miss you espically a rangers rapid fire or any other skill that grants repeated shots.

AgentofChaos.1539:

And yeah, a lot of it is. But then you have skill points which are only possible with cheap tactics, and a “personal” story which requires a group of five to complete. Yeah, very solo friendly.

Which personal story are you referring to? I have so far completed multiple paths using different characters and not once have I needed help from anyone.

Suddenflame.2601:

Which personal story are you referring to? I have so far completed multiple paths using different characters and not once have I needed help from anyone.

One of the last personal story steps requires completing a story mode dungeon. But that might change, since they want to evolve the personal story similar to the living story.

Healix.5819:

Suddenflame.2601:

Which personal story are you referring to? I have so far completed multiple paths using different characters and not once have I needed help from anyone.

One of the last personal story steps requires completing a story mode dungeon. But that might change, since they want to evolve the personal story similar to the living story.

Ahh your talking about the end which requires you to complete a story mode dungeon and kill Zhaitan. That’s the only exception and its a pretty minor one considering in its current state one of my characters (warrior) could potentially solo it with little to no problem lol. They nerfed the hell out of it. Its pretty minor and i agree with Anet decision to make a dungeon and 5 party members needed cause it would be too wierd if you could solo Zhaitan but unable to solo Teq.

Suddenflame.2601:

It can be soloed i done it solo with 4 different professions. Ele, Warrior, Ranger and Guardian… i might have done it with an Engi, but not sure i would have to check.

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

Suggestions:

• You can dodge her attacks.
• Since she is ranged melee does a lot more to her.
• Side stepping and never standing still will make 60-90% of her attacks miss.
• Take out Noxia first before engaging her. Noxia can be pulled.
• ensure your gear is not to low below your lvl

edit: when i mean side stepping i mean going back and forth fast like press D and hold D for half a sec then press A for a half a sec and do that. Once you learn to perform this skill correctly you can use it in WvW and PVP and watch as most ranged attacks miss you espically a rangers rapid fire or any other skill that grants repeated shots.

Are you actually serious? You’re saying you can avoid projectiles by sidestepping? I have to admit I’m skeptical. As far as I can see, projectiles will hit no matter what unless you use an actual dodge/evade mechanic. Or if you stand behind an obstacle. It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

And beyond all that, how are you supposed to avoid being squished in seconds by three ravens and two veterans? And even if you survive the initial attack, how do you recover and survive the next wave? Healing does little and you can’t evade every thing.

Come on, be serious. Can you really solo this fight without being downed at least once? Sorry, I just don’t see it.

AgentofChaos.1539:

It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

GW2 is an MMO hybrid action RPG. Generally, avoiding the animation does avoid the attack. There are a few exceptions of course, notably homing attacks.

When you shoot a projectile, it predicts where the target will be and shoots in that direction. Once the shot is fired, if the target changes direction, it will cause you to miss. The easy way to side step is by holding Q (stafe left) and tapping E (strafe right).

AgentofChaos.1539:

Suddenflame.2601:

It can be soloed i done it solo with 4 different professions. Ele, Warrior, Ranger and Guardian… i might have done it with an Engi, but not sure i would have to check.

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

Suggestions:

• You can dodge her attacks.
• Since she is ranged melee does a lot more to her.
• Side stepping and never standing still will make 60-90% of her attacks miss.
• Take out Noxia first before engaging her. Noxia can be pulled.
• ensure your gear is not to low below your lvl

edit: when i mean side stepping i mean going back and forth fast like press D and hold D for half a sec then press A for a half a sec and do that. Once you learn to perform this skill correctly you can use it in WvW and PVP and watch as most ranged attacks miss you espically a rangers rapid fire or any other skill that grants repeated shots.

Are you actually serious? You’re saying you can avoid projectiles by sidestepping? I have to admit I’m skeptical. As far as I can see, projectiles will hit no matter what unless you use an actual dodge/evade mechanic. Or if you stand behind an obstacle. It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

And beyond all that, how are you supposed to avoid being squished in seconds by three ravens and two veterans? And even if you survive the initial attack, how do you recover and survive the next wave? Healing does little and you can’t evade every thing.

Come on, be serious. Can you really solo this fight without being downed at least once? Sorry, I just don’t see it.

I am serious you can dodge attacks by side stepping that’s including melee attacks. Circling your opponent will make his attacks miss. Side stepping and making the the game over shoot happens as well when it comes to ranged. The game tries to calculate where you will be in the instant the arrow is released therefor it leads the target. If the arrow does not hit your hit bow because you went in the opposite direction it will miss. Try it out some time. I do it all the time in WvW and PVE. Avoiding the animation in this case does avoid the attack cause the combat system is ARPG.

I can solo her without being downed once. Your over thinking it and based on what you have said you do not understand how the combat system in this game works. If the animation does not hit your hit box then you do you not take the damage. This game is about skill not item based like most MMOs. Understanding how the combat system works helps you in the long run.

For example just recently my lvl30 (even scaled up mathematically disadvantaged) mesmer wearing masterwork armor defeated 1v1 in WvW defeated a lvl80 mesmer wearing exotics. In any nonARPG combat MMO i would mathematically would have lost but since i understand the combat system and that it is ARPG i was able to out skill my opponent and defeated them.

Healix.5819:

AgentofChaos.1539:

It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

GW2 is an MMO hybrid action RPG. Generally, avoiding the animation does avoid the attack. There are a few exceptions of course, notably homing attacks.

When you shoot a projectile, it predicts where the target will be and shoots in that direction. Once the shot is fired, if the target changes direction, it will cause you to miss. The easy way to side step is by holding Q (stafe left) and tapping E (strafe right).

I just use A and D while holding the right mouse button so that i am able to change directions fast. But either way works.

I’ve never been able to solo Vilnia

AgentofChaos.1539:

As far as I can see, projectiles will hit no matter what unless you use an actual dodge/evade mechanic.

Guardians and anyone that’s fought with/against one can confirm how simple it is to just move out of Orb of Wrath’s way.

non-homing projectiles and flight time is all it takes.

AgentofChaos.1539:

It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

it’s an online action rpg. Hitboxes are affected by animations and positioning.

She is tough I had forgotten about her until last week when I got there with a new character. Went ranged and stayed on a rock after dying a few times. That worked.

I design all my characters to play in WvW so basically veterans are not an issue espically when your dealing with supply camps all the time

Suddenflame.2601:

AgentofChaos.1539:

Suddenflame.2601:

It can be soloed i done it solo with 4 different professions. Ele, Warrior, Ranger and Guardian… i might have done it with an Engi, but not sure i would have to check.

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

Suggestions:

• You can dodge her attacks.
• Since she is ranged melee does a lot more to her.
• Side stepping and never standing still will make 60-90% of her attacks miss.
• Take out Noxia first before engaging her. Noxia can be pulled.
• ensure your gear is not to low below your lvl

edit: when i mean side stepping i mean going back and forth fast like press D and hold D for half a sec then press A for a half a sec and do that. Once you learn to perform this skill correctly you can use it in WvW and PVP and watch as most ranged attacks miss you espically a rangers rapid fire or any other skill that grants repeated shots.

Are you actually serious? You’re saying you can avoid projectiles by sidestepping? I have to admit I’m skeptical. As far as I can see, projectiles will hit no matter what unless you use an actual dodge/evade mechanic. Or if you stand behind an obstacle. It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

And beyond all that, how are you supposed to avoid being squished in seconds by three ravens and two veterans? And even if you survive the initial attack, how do you recover and survive the next wave? Healing does little and you can’t evade every thing.

Come on, be serious. Can you really solo this fight without being downed at least once? Sorry, I just don’t see it.

I am serious you can dodge attacks by side stepping that’s including melee attacks. Circling your opponent will make his attacks miss. Side stepping and making the the game over shoot happens as well when it comes to ranged. The game tries to calculate where you will be in the instant the arrow is released therefor it leads the target. If the arrow does not hit your hit bow because you went in the opposite direction it will miss. Try it out some time. I do it all the time in WvW and PVE. Avoiding the animation in this case does avoid the attack cause the combat system is ARPG.

I can solo her without being downed once. Your over thinking it and based on what you have said you do not understand how the combat system in this game works. If the animation does not hit your hit box then you do you not take the damage. This game is about skill not item based like most MMOs. Understanding how the combat system works helps you in the long run.

For example just recently my lvl30 (even scaled up mathematically disadvantaged) mesmer wearing masterwork armor defeated 1v1 in WvW defeated a lvl80 mesmer wearing exotics. In any nonARPG combat MMO i would mathematically would have lost but since i understand the combat system and that it is ARPG i was able to out skill my opponent and defeated them.

Wow, I never knew that. I’ll give it a try. To be honest, I never put much thought into the combat system. I just assumed it was the same as other MMOs. That said, though, I do fine in most fights. It’s only this one that seems impossible, lol.

AgentofChaos.1539:

Suddenflame.2601:

AgentofChaos.1539:

Suddenflame.2601:

It can be soloed i done it solo with 4 different professions. Ele, Warrior, Ranger and Guardian… i might have done it with an Engi, but not sure i would have to check.

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

Suggestions:

• You can dodge her attacks.
• Since she is ranged melee does a lot more to her.
• Side stepping and never standing still will make 60-90% of her attacks miss.
• Take out Noxia first before engaging her. Noxia can be pulled.
• ensure your gear is not to low below your lvl

edit: when i mean side stepping i mean going back and forth fast like press D and hold D for half a sec then press A for a half a sec and do that. Once you learn to perform this skill correctly you can use it in WvW and PVP and watch as most ranged attacks miss you espically a rangers rapid fire or any other skill that grants repeated shots.

Are you actually serious? You’re saying you can avoid projectiles by sidestepping? I have to admit I’m skeptical. As far as I can see, projectiles will hit no matter what unless you use an actual dodge/evade mechanic. Or if you stand behind an obstacle. It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

And beyond all that, how are you supposed to avoid being squished in seconds by three ravens and two veterans? And even if you survive the initial attack, how do you recover and survive the next wave? Healing does little and you can’t evade every thing.

Come on, be serious. Can you really solo this fight without being downed at least once? Sorry, I just don’t see it.

I am serious you can dodge attacks by side stepping that’s including melee attacks. Circling your opponent will make his attacks miss. Side stepping and making the the game over shoot happens as well when it comes to ranged. The game tries to calculate where you will be in the instant the arrow is released therefor it leads the target. If the arrow does not hit your hit bow because you went in the opposite direction it will miss. Try it out some time. I do it all the time in WvW and PVE. Avoiding the animation in this case does avoid the attack cause the combat system is ARPG.

I can solo her without being downed once. Your over thinking it and based on what you have said you do not understand how the combat system in this game works. If the animation does not hit your hit box then you do you not take the damage. This game is about skill not item based like most MMOs. Understanding how the combat system works helps you in the long run.

For example just recently my lvl30 (even scaled up mathematically disadvantaged) mesmer wearing masterwork armor defeated 1v1 in WvW defeated a lvl80 mesmer wearing exotics. In any nonARPG combat MMO i would mathematically would have lost but since i understand the combat system and that it is ARPG i was able to out skill my opponent and defeated them.

Wow, I never knew that. I’ll give it a try. To be honest, I never put much thought into the combat system. I just assumed it was the same as other MMOs. That said, though, I do fine in most fights. It’s only this one that seems impossible, lol.

Wait until you run into the version of this where Noxia is permanently invulnerable …

AgentofChaos.1539:

Suddenflame.2601:

AgentofChaos.1539:

Suddenflame.2601:

It can be soloed i done it solo with 4 different professions. Ele, Warrior, Ranger and Guardian… i might have done it with an Engi, but not sure i would have to check.

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

Suggestions:

• You can dodge her attacks.
• Since she is ranged melee does a lot more to her.
• Side stepping and never standing still will make 60-90% of her attacks miss.
• Take out Noxia first before engaging her. Noxia can be pulled.
• ensure your gear is not to low below your lvl

edit: when i mean side stepping i mean going back and forth fast like press D and hold D for half a sec then press A for a half a sec and do that. Once you learn to perform this skill correctly you can use it in WvW and PVP and watch as most ranged attacks miss you espically a rangers rapid fire or any other skill that grants repeated shots.

Are you actually serious? You’re saying you can avoid projectiles by sidestepping? I have to admit I’m skeptical. As far as I can see, projectiles will hit no matter what unless you use an actual dodge/evade mechanic. Or if you stand behind an obstacle. It’s an MMO, not an ARPG. Avoiding the animation doesn’t avoid the attack.

And beyond all that, how are you supposed to avoid being squished in seconds by three ravens and two veterans? And even if you survive the initial attack, how do you recover and survive the next wave? Healing does little and you can’t evade every thing.

Come on, be serious. Can you really solo this fight without being downed at least once? Sorry, I just don’t see it.

I am serious you can dodge attacks by side stepping that’s including melee attacks. Circling your opponent will make his attacks miss. Side stepping and making the the game over shoot happens as well when it comes to ranged. The game tries to calculate where you will be in the instant the arrow is released therefor it leads the target. If the arrow does not hit your hit bow because you went in the opposite direction it will miss. Try it out some time. I do it all the time in WvW and PVE. Avoiding the animation in this case does avoid the attack cause the combat system is ARPG.

I can solo her without being downed once. Your over thinking it and based on what you have said you do not understand how the combat system in this game works. If the animation does not hit your hit box then you do you not take the damage. This game is about skill not item based like most MMOs. Understanding how the combat system works helps you in the long run.

For example just recently my lvl30 (even scaled up mathematically disadvantaged) mesmer wearing masterwork armor defeated 1v1 in WvW defeated a lvl80 mesmer wearing exotics. In any nonARPG combat MMO i would mathematically would have lost but since i understand the combat system and that it is ARPG i was able to out skill my opponent and defeated them.

Wow, I never knew that. I’ll give it a try. To be honest, I never put much thought into the combat system. I just assumed it was the same as other MMOs. That said, though, I do fine in most fights. It’s only this one that seems impossible, lol.

It does take more skill to defeat her buts its more of a test to see how well your skill is with your current character. Unable to beat her without just spawn running shows that you need to learn a little more.

Suddenflame.2601:

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

For whatever it’s worth, this thread is the first thing that pops up when searching for “gw2 vilnia shadowsong”, and this particular skill challenge is considered one of the toughest at any level by many players. Thus the fact that this is the top search result on google makes this comment one of the more infamous examples of kitten wagging in the game.

It’s also not very helpful, aside from the tip about taking out Noxia first, because the ravens spam AoE confusion and the condition-stacking autoattack Vilnia and her phantasms use against you cannot be side-stepped. Try it: they home in on you. I just tested it.

Thankfully, the wiki page for this fight (Slay the evil Raven shaman, Vilnia Shadowsong, and her helper) does offer some useful tips, the most important being the safe area behind the column to the left of the gate at the north end of the chamber.

Whenever a player gets get condition stacked, the column offers a safe place to heal up before stepping back in. While it’s also possible to hop up the rocks on the south end (where you enter the encounter), doing so takes time and exposes you to attacks. The column is usually a better choice.

The second most important thing to be prepared for is to immediately stop attacking when the ravens stack confusion with their barrage attacks. The amount of confusion they stack can down any player in seconds if they don’t back off and either clear them with a skill or allow them to time out while evading or hiding behind the column.

Third is to be prepared to take a lot of damage, because there is no profession in the game that has enough endurance to dodge everything that’s going to be thrown at you, condition damage isn’t mitigated by armor, and circle-strafing won’t protect you from homing ranged attacks. I strongly recommend using some sort of regeneration food before the battle.

Fourth is to focus on one enemy at a time, because they all have ranged attacks, and the more enemies shooting at you at once, the less likely you can dodge them all. A Guardian with a lot of condition removal and AoE spam may be able to burn everything down quickly, but for most professions, a conservative, methodical approach is most likely to succeed.

This is NOT an easy fight, especially for a level 25 encounter, and great care and patience are needed to solo it. If simply completing it is the goal, it’s much better to bring friends for this one if at all possible.

To anyone who may be reading this as a result of googling for it, I hope this post may help, and I urge anyone attempting this not to be discouraged by some of the less helpful comments this thread contains.

It’s not easy, but it’s possible.

Good luck!

Been able to solo her on Necromancer. Not like it was too easy, but trying to pull mobs carefully, using Wells (Suffering andDarkness) as well as Bone Fiend (high toughness, priorized target), sidestepping and just using skills in general besides mashing #1 worked no problem

Had no issues on my ele which was a surprise to me. He is lvl 80 though, so wasn’t on level which is probably why. Dodging (obv) combined with conditions also helped.

I remember having a tougher time on my warrior though on my first run though the game and roughly on level. It’s nice having to feel like you need to earn a skill point at least!

Majic.4801:

Suddenflame.2601:

At this point I question your knowledge on your classes along with your combat ability. I have never died to her even once.

For whatever it’s worth, this thread is the first thing that pops up when searching for “gw2 vilnia shadowsong”, and this particular skill challenge is considered one of the toughest at any level by many players. Thus the fact that this is the top search result on google makes this comment one of the more infamous examples of kitten wagging in the game.

It’s also not very helpful, aside from the tip about taking out Noxia first, because the ravens spam AoE confusion and the condition-stacking autoattack Vilnia and her phantasms use against you cannot be side-stepped. Try it: they home in on you. I just tested it.

Thankfully, the wiki page for this fight (Slay the evil Raven shaman, Vilnia Shadowsong, and her helper) does offer some useful tips, the most important being the safe area behind the column to the left of the gate at the north end of the chamber.

Whenever a player gets get condition stacked, the column offers a safe place to heal up before stepping back in. While it’s also possible to hop up the rocks on the south end (where you enter the encounter), doing so takes time and exposes you to attacks. The column is usually a better choice.

The second most important thing to be prepared for is to immediately stop attacking when the ravens stack confusion with their barrage attacks. The amount of confusion they stack can down any player in seconds if they don’t back off and either clear them with a skill or allow them to time out while evading or hiding behind the column.

Third is to be prepared to take a lot of damage, because there is no profession in the game that has enough endurance to dodge everything that’s going to be thrown at you, condition damage isn’t mitigated by armor, and circle-strafing won’t protect you from homing ranged attacks. I strongly recommend using some sort of regeneration food before the battle.

Fourth is to focus on one enemy at a time, because they all have ranged attacks, and the more enemies shooting at you at once, the less likely you can dodge them all. A Guardian with a lot of condition removal and AoE spam may be able to burn everything down quickly, but for most professions, a conservative, methodical approach is most likely to succeed.

This is NOT an easy fight, especially for a level 25 encounter, and great care and patience are needed to solo it. If simply completing it is the goal, it’s much better to bring friends for this one if at all possible.

To anyone who may be reading this as a result of googling for it, I hope this post may help, and I urge anyone attempting this not to be discouraged by some of the less helpful comments this thread contains.

It’s not easy, but it’s possible.

Good luck!

This is your best advice and answer. Disregard wiggling your hitbox.
And don’t feel bad, I would concur this is the toughest skill point solo outside of Orr.

This skill challenge is very hard if youre on level when you do it.

Wait until youre 50+ and come back for it.