Guild Wars 2

The volcanic fractal past level 20 is just too hard, in compression to the other fractals at the same level it is just not in the same league.

Every time i have attempted it, the groups will end up biting each others heads off and pointing fingers then giving up. nothing is more frustrating after doing 2 fractals then having to end it all on the Volcanic fractal.

I just don’t understand why it is so much harder than the others at it’s level.

I have got to level 29 in fractals of the mist due to completing runs that don’t have this fractal, it seems to be the only way at the moment.

it is so disheartening to have done so well on the first 2 fractals then to have volcanic, because I have got the point now where I know the group will fall apart and leave.

and before the elitist trolls start saying ‘learn to play’ or ‘find a guild’ that has nothing to do with it. because it is so blatant that the difficulty of this 1 fractal is just so much higher than the rest, and it just seems ridiculous.

I just feel it should be watered down a bit to fit in with the other fractals at it’s level.

I really enjoy FotM and grinding it day in day out… but this 1 fractal really ruins it all.

anyone else share my views on this?

Dodge/blind agony.. win. Seriously one of the easiest in a group that uses both hands to play.

half of the time the groups dont even get that far, with the captives part… sure that dodge / blind agony part is simple enough. but my point still stand about it being just so much harder that the other fractals at it’s level.

People probably won’t listen to you because all they want to do is hit 1-5 and hope the Shaman dies, but if you hit your strafes rapidly while keeping relatively stationary his direct damage, agony applying, AoE Flame Blast projectile will fly right over your shoulder. Dodging can be saved for his AoE Firestorm or you could just run out of it easily enough. You could essentially get by the entire fight without even dodging once.

Blackers.7512:

anyone else share my views on this?

And if someone shares, so what? Are you going to cry “OMGWTFNERFITASAP” together?

Its most deffinitly not hard, im lvl 25 now and have always completed this instance, and im always playing with pugs :S ive been getting this instance almost every lvl.

In fact, this is one of the instances we pray to have because it rewards a second chest and its one of the faster instances to clear. You justvjad a bad luck strike, as I havnt had a group break up over this boss yet.

Honestly, you must be comming across some seriously unskilled players if your failing to even get past the very first and second portions of this instance.

If you have a Guardian that’s a very easy Fractal (and one of my favorites due to being easy) I only got to level 24 so not sure if it gets hard after that.

I just don’t like the fire boss at the end. It’s not as hard as it comes out as though.
You need to keep moving sideways nonstop while you range it and use reflect and walls for it’s summons. As Thief I Dagger storm them and use smoke screen. If your HP is too low to heal try to run out of combat range for a bit. I’m still constantly reviving people and getting burned for not moving~ the stealth removing conditions is nice for that tho.

One of the easiest one’s IMO. I’m a glass cannon Mesmer at lvl 40 and I never down in that fight.
Get some Omnomberry ghost and some maintenance oil to help negate the constant DoT.

maddoctor.2738:

If you have a Guardian that’s a very easy Fractal (and one of my favorites due to being easy) I only got to level 24 so not sure if it gets hard after that.

He said its rediculously hard at and after lvl 20.

it gets extremely hard at 40 because the arrows will down you
they are hard to dodge imo because it is hard to see if he is facing you

The only tough part about it is hoping the other players don’t get downed every 30 seconds or so.

What you want to do is to be at max range where you have time to react to the arrow projectile and stack behind reflects during lava phase after shield goes off.

I personally move sideways (A – D with a fast rate) and the arrow usually misses me

I stopped at level 40 which i fully pugged and it is by far the hardest if you have no guardian or at least mesmer.

While I agree that the damage on the final boss in the Volcanic Fractal is a little excessive it’s not unbearably so if you know what to do. Granted, I’m only up to level 31 and play a Guardian (party healing and multiple ways to block/reflect projectiles means we really shine on this fight).

Some tips;

1. The boss inflicts Agony with a projectile ability so you can block, absorb, or reflect it and the pulsing AoE Burning that comes with it.

2. Always keep the boss in the middle of his platform because otherwise, depending on his target, he’ll be able to reach an NPC before you can break his shield.

3. EVERYONE needs to burn the boss’ shield down ASAP, this has top priority. If the boss is able to heal himself your party can quickly become overwhelmed by all the AoE damage.

4. Lava Elementals have projectile attacks so you can block, absorb, or reflect them. This is very important, especially at higher levels, because a majority of the encounter’s damage comes from the Lava Ele’s.

5. Once the boss’ shield is down kill all of the Lava Elementals before you go back to attacking the boss.

6. Unless you have multiple ways to block/absorb/reflect projectiles in an area it’s a good idea to have everyone spread out a little during phase 1 (no shield/no lava ele’s) to prevent the AoE Burning from whittling your health down.

7. If you do have multiple ways to block/absorb/reflect projectiles in an area it’s a good idea to stay close together to prevent Agony/Burning. You should also stack up during phase 2 (shield/lava ele’s) to protect everyone from the Lava Elementals.

8. Bring anything that blocks/absorbs/reflects projectiles or heals in an area.

9. The boss’ shield has a set number of charges and each time you deal direct damage to him it removes one of them, when all of the charges have been removed his shield will break. As a result, if you’re having trouble breaking his shield quickly enough you might want to switch to a faster weapon or one that deals damage in multiple, smaller hits.

10. Don’t bother trying to use melee weapons. If anyone gets too close to the boss he’ll use a PBAoE that can instantly down you (depending on difficulty) and the Lava Elementals have an Immobilize.

Blackers.7512:

and before the elitist trolls start saying ‘learn to play’ or ‘find a guild’ that has nothing to do with it. because it is so blatant that the difficulty of this 1 fractal is just so much higher than the rest, and it just seems ridiculous.

This is a very, very bad attitude. Fractals is the closest thing there is to progressively challenging content, yes, challenge is the keyword here. The shaman fight indeed is one of the hardest fights as levels get higher if not the hardest, then this fight should be the bar of your overall ability to complete each level.

Because of the randomness of the fractals, many people avoided the this fractal. In 30+ levels having a good composition and knowledge of the fight is essential to complete the fight. And as it seems currently, this isn’t the case. So consider this, if someone can’t complete a shaman fight, maybe he or she don’t belong to that level in the first place.

Learning and practicing to play is exactly what should be done here. So let’s please not complain about the hard contents being too hard, this is plain silly. There are people who have done this fight at the fractal level cap.

I definitely agree that the Volcano fractal is too hard when compared to other fractals. That is why all the others should be pumped up to the level of this beauty.

Please don’t dumb down the only challenging thing in this game!

Really, there is one fix that will make he grawl boss easier. Make the animation for the arrow more visable. It kidda hard to see when the boss shoots. I usually run away or refect. Glass cannon focus/glamour mesmer here

Brother felt like posting on my acc, deleting this as I am only personally in fractal 7.

I’ll keep his post though:

“I personally don’t have problems with 20+, run with guildies, PuGs are fail” pretty much what the post was.

The boss could use a more noticeable animation or at least a camera angle that allows me to see the field AND the boss because most of the time my camera is panned close to ground to see him for when he faces me which disables my view to most of everything on the ground.

The lava fractal is by far the hardest past 30 though, nothing even comes close to it in difficulty, maybe the ice source in ice fractal comes semi-close to it but that’s it everything else is cake walk. You really need a team with at least 1 AoE reflect and or a support that can heal well to get past it, that or a full team that knows how to dodge but that’s just wishful thinking.

It’s not a bad thing that something requires some skill to get through.

You know, no one ever promised that GW2 content must be a complete easymode walk in the park, some people actually play for a challenge.