Guild Wars 2 Diary Episode 8: Into the Woods

We have a ringmaster to capture. Over the last few weeks we’ve unveiled his plot to use the hypnotic powers of the Floating Grizwhirl to some terrible end, but we haven’t been quite sure what that end has been. We’ve managed to rescue countless people (more than seven!) under the influence of the Ringmaster and of the Grizwhirl but the world won’t be safe until we can put him down for good. To do that we’ll need to go to a meeting of recruits and ambush him. It worked before with Two-blade Pete, why wouldn’t it work with the Ringmaster?

Godslost Swamp

Before we even attempt “Into the Woods,” the quest to ambush the Ringmaster, we’ll have to traverse the Godslost Swamp. It’s aptly named. When the human gods left the world, evil remained and it remained, largely, in this swamp area. As fantasy precedent demands, these swamps are filled with ghosts and ghouls, deadly bugs and a lot more beside. There’s a skill point here, a secret, dangerous enemy, and a renown heart quest to get through. If you survive, you’ll be more than prepared for the next part of your adventure and for your showdown with the Ringmaster.

The skill point is fairly easy to get to – it’s just at the bottom of the river and, of course, it’ll appear on your mini-map. Simply swim down and get it. The only difficulty here will be if you’re attacked by the Drakes. These are deadly underwater and, honestly, if you’re surrounded you’ll have more trouble than a skill point is worth. Your best bet is to wait around for somebody else who wants the skill point and fighting the two or three Drakes together, claiming the skill point together and getting out together. If somebody has just done that or if you’re a higher level, this probably won’t cause you too much trouble anyway.

The renown heart quest in Guild Wars 2 has you saving frustrated souls and closing green, flashing portals. Simply approach the ghosts walking around, talk with them and they’ll show you why they’re not at rest: a giant black spectre follows each and everyone of them. So long as this is a one on one battle, you should have no problem with these, but make sure you don’t attract any of the monsters around that actively attack you. The bugs won’t, most of the lizard-creatures will. A lot of the lizard-creatures can poison as well, so it’s definitely not worth getting surrounded by these things unless you have plenty of back-up.

You need to attack the green portals as you would any other monster. They’re usually lightly defended, but it won’t take long to destroy them. Once they’re gone, a monster will appear. You’ve got a pretty good chance that this will just be another of the black spectres that are haunting the lost souls, but there’s also a good chance that you’ll be the victim of a larger, harder monster. These things are relatively hard to beat, and lower levelled characters will die unsupported. Once you’ve saved enough souls and destroyed the portals, you’ll get 600+ experience and another renown heart finished.

That leaves just one thing to do. In the centre of the swamp is a vista mark. That’s worth getting just for the sake of getting it, but in the centre of the hill lies a hidden hut in which a Necromancer lives. He owns a book, but doesn’t like the way touching it makes him feel. If you’re feeling brave enough, you can try your luck. The monster that the book summons is a kind of massive vampire bat and is easy enough to beat, especially if there are people helping you. For killing it, you’ll get some new equipment and a ton of experience (compared to other kills).

Kessex Hills

Once you’re done with the swamp, it’s time to head south towards the green swirl on the map. This will take you away from Queensdale – where all of our Guild Wars 2 game has taken place so far, and will allow you into the Kessex Hills. It is here that you’ll continue your quests and it is here that you’ll come face to face with the Ringmaster. First, though, the place is overrun with bandits and you’ll need to fight your way through.

"If you’re not in any rush to carry on with the story, I’d suggest doing some more renown heart quests. "

There are at least five within a relatively confined space, and all of them are really easy to do. Whether it’s killing bandits or centaurs, there are plenty of enemies around and the only struggle you might have is in the fact that they tend to work quite tightly. You won’t get many one-on-one fights here, and for lower levels it’ll be a devil. Get with a group, on the other hand, and you’ll find the renown heart bars shooting up and your experience doing the same.

If you’re feeling especially brave, it’s time to head towards the green objective marker and venture into the woods.

Into the Woods

There is indeed a meeting of potential recruits and the Ringmaster is more than happy to show off the potential of his Floating Grizwhirl. After giving a small speech and revealing that he plans to use the Grizwhirl at Divinity’s Reach. He then shows exactly what it does. Within a moment your fellow recruits disappear and you become surrounded by terrible monsters who begin to attack you. There’s something wrong though: these monsters are screaming, seemingly as frightened of the monsters as you are. Once you’ve destroyed them you realize the truth: the Grizwhirl makes you believe those around you are monsters and if released on a city there’s going to be mass murder in the streets.

Unfortunately the Ringmaster has a bit of a head start on us and we’re going to have to rush back to Divinity’s Reach and do everything we can to derail his evil plan.

Conclusion - Guild Wars 2 Review Week 8

We now know everything about what the Ringmaster plans and, although things are going to get harder before the end, we now have a clear objective. The Floating Grizwhirl is no longer a mystery and, being aware of what it can do, we’ll be better prepared for battle when we reach the city. Not only is the plot progressing, but also our journey through the world. Kessex Hills offers a harder challenge and more enemies than we’re used to, but it also offers the exciting chance to explore a different sort of location. Next week we’ll be finishing our fight with the Ringmaster, but we’ll also be finding new locations, new allies and new enemies. See you next week in another Guild Wars 2 Diary.

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