Guild Wars 2 Diary #12 : Through the Lychcroft Mere

Last week’s slow journey through the world of Guild Wars 2 meant that we were now a little bit closer to getting onto the main story. The Ringmaster is long gone, the help given to us by a Mesmer so we could sneak into Two-Blade Pete’s layer is just a distant memory and, if you followed my advice last week, you’ll have explored as much as you possibly can and will have probably made it to about level 20-25. You’ll probably have pretty decent armour/weaponry and, if you don’t, be sure to head into a town and repair/purchase the best stuff going. You’re going to need it: especially if you’re of an underwhelming level.This week we’re moving into a swamp filled with the undead. Worse than that though, you’ll have a couple of very difficult decisions to make.

Meeting the Orders of Tyria

If you’ve explored around in Guild Wars 2 enough and particularly Kessex Hills and their surrounding areas, you’ll probably have a pretty easy path to get to the camp where the Orders of Tyria are debating their next move. The Lychcroft Mere is full of the undead, and children are disappearing every day. Arguing over the plan is getting nothing done and more people are being kidnapped. You have to make the decision, and it won’t be an easy one. When you’re ready – take your time – make your way to the green instance marker and prepare yourself for a cut scene.

Guild Wars 2 Gameplay Video - Episode 12 - [HD]

You’re going to need to bring along your thinking cap. You’ll need to either storm the swamp alongside highly trained soldiers in the hope that you can get everybody out there without harming them or you’ll need to put your trust in technology – potentially dangerous untested technology. What would you do? Attack head-on and potentially lose not only those trapped within the swamp, but those who accompany you on the rescue as well? What’s the alternative though? What if you hit the switch and nothing happens? What if you hit the switch and you blow up half of Tyria?

It needs thinking about but, unfortunately, you don’t have the time to dwell on the issue too long. In-game, people are dying. In real terms, you can’t leave the instanced area without needing to do everything again (which, I’m sure you agree, would be just tragic).

I picked an option fairly easily. How about you?

Surrounding the Orders of Tyria

Coming this far out into the Kessex Hills gives you new areas to explore, new renown heart quests to complete and more events to partake in. The level of enemies you come across will have generally shifted upwards from 18-20 to 20-22. It’s a small difference, but one that you’ll have to adjust to.

Be sure not to let yourself be surrounded and, if you can, pick off enemies one by one. If you get two or three level 22 enemies surrounding you, you’re going to struggle, and the waypoints seem oddly placed in this neck of the woods.

You can also enter the Lychcroft Mere to the west, an area we know to be fall of Risen – zombies that are quick and dangerous. This area has events and quests of its own, separate from your quest with the Orders of Tyria, but the amount of enemies in the area is high. I should also mention that I haven’t really seen too many people in this area, not like the swamps found a little closer to Lion’s Arch, and so I suggest going with friends if you can.

If you can’t, buff your character and cross your fingers.

There’s probably a few hours’ worth of work around here and more if you repeat events and help out other players. Be sure to check underwater as there are events and the like under there as well. The hardest thing here is an underwater event that has you battling wave after wave of sea monsters.  If you’ve been ignoring your underwater equipment, now’s your time to upgrade.

Raiding the Lychcroft Mere

What did you decide in the end? Did you go with the direct approach of attacking the Lychcroft Mere or did you try the more indirect technological route?

Personally, I had to go with the more direct approach. Using untested tech to try to save the day? Plus the guy who suggested it had abnormally green eyes. Fantastic justification aside, this also seemed the best way of getting access to the biggest group of enemies in the least amount of time and I had an XP booster on.

Journeying through the Lychcroft Mere was fairly simple. The Risen, like the zombies they’re based upon, are deadly, quick, but relatively easy to destroy. Sure, in numbers they’ll be a genuine threat, but you have numbers as well. There are maybe four in your party, not including yourself, and this grows when you come across the first group of soldiers. They’re protecting the kidnapped children you were sent to save.

Before you can get them to safety, you must repel the enemy. This glitched on me, meaning I couldn’t finish the quest on my first run. If this happens to you, just quit out and come back. It’s a fairly short “episode” if you skip the cut scenes and, again, experience is never a bad thing. You’ll fight three waves of enemies and I suggest you allow them to come to you. I don’t think that having your allies knocked out actually does anything, but staying close to the kids is likely to be beneficial. When you’ve finished the last Risen, they’ll retreat, leaving you a very narrow window in which to escape.

When you escape, you’ll return to Divinity’s Reach. You give your report and are met with another choice: sacrifice the people of a small town for the greater good, or protect the town and risk not being able to pre-empt the next set of Risen attacks. Should you do everything in your power to protect as many people as possible, or should you sit back and look at the bigger picture? This is a conundrum that will need to wait until next week, but feel free to give your opinions in the comment section below.

Conclusion

We’re now getting into the main story for Guild Wars 2, and that’s very exciting. We’re also getting into an area of the game that is much harder and that will require a little more effort in levelling than perhaps we’re used to. For now though we’re going to think on our big decision and, prepared, hope that everything turns out for the best. Be sure to check in next week, when we’ll be living with the consequences of our raid and choosing the fate of an entire town.

Previous episodes of Guild Wars 2 Diary can be found here>>