Guild Wars 2

I’m about to hit fractal 31. I read up on instabilities and they seem impossible to do. How do you guys actually complete some of these especially on dredge fractal?

ICEing.9237:

I’m about to hit fractal 31. I read up on instabilities and they seem impossible to do. How do you guys actually complete some of these especially on dredge fractal?

I’ve found that the impact of the instabilities can vary quite widely, and it doesn’t necessarily follow that a higher level instability is worse. For example, fractal 36’s instability is barely noticeable (crowd control has reduced effectiveness) whereas 33 (increased damage from behind and the sides) can really hurt unless you’re very careful.

I’d suggest picking the ones that look like they won’t impact you as much, and do that level, even if it’s above your personal reward level.

We use the easy ones 31 and above to advance,. It only works as long as you have someone who can already play higher than your current level. Level 49 isn’t that bad if you have the AR. We tend to do that one over and over right now.

The mistlocks can make certain fractals more difficult but not really affect any others

31 – Mossman. He’s basically there to burn one of your dodges or force you to use your healing skill. Not a lot you can do about him

32 – If you’re regularly cleansing or your party has access to regular cleansing, then this isn’t much of a big deal. Though Aetherblade Boss fractal can be more painful when Mai Trin spams her conditions on you. Anti condi builds are essential for her. Warrs running soldier runes with shouts can help, Guards trait for condi conversion, Necros with condi conversion wells, that sort of thing. Otherwise, not much more than usual

33 – Outflanked. Good stacking is important here. Dredge, and maybe Uncategorised, will be your biggest problem with this one. Dredges spawn all over the place so this is really just an exercise in position. Invulnerability and CC, such as Fears, Knock downs, skills will be very helpful here as well as the usual reflects and shields.

34 Fleeting precision – 25% reduction in Crit chance. Not really a huge burden. Pack Fury, Discipline banners, ranger with spotter, food to boost Precision. Otherwise, not much to worry about

35 Stormy Weather – This one can be murder. Had a couple of tries where I’ve been stunned in the middle of a horde of dredge. Stun breakers are a must.

36 Losing Control – Can be a major problem in Lava fractal when you’re doing the second phase where the vets spawn to kick the humans into the lava. Everyone should pack some CC skills. Normally you can get away with 2, maybe3, players using CC but on the safe side, everyone should pack some sort of CC.

37 Keep them in line – Nothing that lots of cleave and AOE’s won’t take care of.

38 Ill and chill – Poison → Regen, Chill → protection, Confusion → Fury. Again, not a huge amount to be worried about. Nothing that cleaves and AOE’s won’t take care of

39 Last Laugh – This one is the most murderous of them all. Cliffside, Dredge, Aquatic, Urban, Molten take on whole new levels of pain. Every mob that dies explodes and does a fair bit of damage. Stacking, cleave and AOE’s are your worst enemies here. The only advice for this one is, skip it if you can. Get the AR and do 40 and level past it. You will want to put a fist through your monitor when playing this one if you want a speedy run. However, that being said it’s also the most challenging and really makes you think about how you’re going to get past the various stages. Certain classes will have it relatively easy because of their skills. Guards, Warrs, Rangers, Eles, Necros all have access to invulnerability or shield skills that can help. Also, stability is a must here. Every explosion also knocks you back. If you attempt this one, expect it to be a long frustrating run.

Basically the key to progressing through fractals is avoiding the difficult instabilities and sticking to the easy ones.

I think I progressed from 38-45 entirely by doing Fractal 49.