Guild Wars 2 Diary #17 : Tyria Is Much Bigger Than You Think

It’s been several weeks since we first learnt of the plot to kill the queen. Even if we go back as far as Two-Blade Pete and to the plot to poison the water supply, if we go back to the Ringleader and his Floating Grizwhirl – all of it led up to this moment. All of it was planned by one man, a man who felt the only way to save Kryta, and perhaps Tyria as a whole, was to kill the most beloved woman in all the world. Destiny’s Reach will be the location for the stand-off, the Queen’s palace the site for the final battle. Can you save the Queen and stop more innocent people getting hurt at the hands of this terrible curse?

Decisions, Decisions

Over the last three or four weeks, we’ve had a pretty major decision to make after every piece of story. It generally comes down to “fight or use some clever contraption/spell.” The fight was generally the harder option, while the other tended to throw up some unexpected complications or ethical problem. At the end of last week, we had to make one final choice: who were we going to pledge allegiance to, who were we going to fight alongside in defence of the Queen, Divinity’s Reach and all of Tyria?

From the first missions with the new factions – in which we had to either journey into a dense Risen-infested swamp and save kidnapped children and wounded soldiers or experiment with a machine to rid the area of the threat – we’ve been getting a feel for what each of the factions stand for. Perhaps you’ll choose the Vigil, whose short-term action-based plans often solve the biggest problem quickly but do so without any long-term foresight and without any real regard for their lives. Maybe the Priory is more your speed, a group who puts research and history above anything else, but who would rather allow short term damage in order to prevent long term issues. Finally there’s the Order of Shadows, whose mysterious, dark ways will place you into ethical dilemmas, but which will get the job done with minimum fuss.

Who would you choose?

I went with the Vigil. Although their story will likely be a little more hands-on, the idea behind the group is probably the best for if you’re playing a “good” character, and it’s the one that’s likely to offer the most action. Picking the Vigil will give you a new mission straight away. You need to rush to the side of the Queen and defend her against hoards of Risen, and against the soldier who wants to kill her. Before you do that though, make sure you check your stats and equip your best weapons: this level is going to be hard.

Kellach’s Attack – Attempt One

Thus far it’s been fairly easy to blag your way through a quest regardless of your level in Guild Wars 2. So long as you weren’t entirely below the recommended level, you could give it a decent go and being able to revive within a few seconds of the main events of a given quest meant you could get back quickly and keep going where you left off. This effectively gave you unlimited lives and enemies who don’t revive.

Whether it’s just this mission or if it’s something we’ll be seeing more often from now on, I’m not sure, but Kellach’s Attack is not going to be treating you as nicely as other quests do. I went into this mission at just under level 25 and it was humiliating.

Kellach appears, explains that he has no choice but to get blood from the Queen and that he’s willing to kill her if need be. Although the (dead) pirate that gave him this information admitted to lying, Kellach doesn’t want to listen to reason and summons a group of Risen to take care of you and your Vigil allies. They do so, quickly.

This mission is actually quite confusing. There are so many Risen around and a small group of Vigil as well. The problem is, you’re in a relatively small area and everything just looks incredibly busy. You can probably switch off the “Player Names” option in the settings, and that might make things a little less confusing, but I’ve not tried it and can’t promise anything.

Before long, your allies drop and the Risen, and Kellach with them, will turn on you. These are all around level 28, and they’ll probably kill you in two or three hits. More than that though, the damage you’re doing is hardly enough to make a dent in their life bar at all. You could, if you had the time and patience, do the old trick of reviving and attacking over and over again and repeating when you die, but it would take hours and it’s just not worth it. That time would be better spent leaving the quest and returning when you’re a little stronger.

I repeat, Kellach has won for now. Go count your limbs and come back when you’re ready for something a little harder.

Exploring Tyria

Thankfully, there’s a lot of world to explore. While our previous adventures have taken us around Queensdale and the Kessex Hills, we’re now more than high enough a level to venture outwards a little bit and challenge new foes in new locations. If you’ve been enjoying the Wintersday Event or have been participating in a little PvP, there’s every chance you’ve now visited the multi-cultural pirate city of Lion’s Den. The surrounding area is relatively difficult (level 30 monsters), but these can be defeated if you’re careful or have friends with you. There’s also a lot of events, a few waypoints and a couple of vistas within monster-dodging distance, so see it as free experience if you’ve yet to do this area.

Alternatively, there’s the Gendarren Fields. To the east of the Kessex Hills (near the Centaur base we tackled not long ago), this level 20-ish area is now ripe for exploration and contains renown heart quests, events and all the usual stuff that, if you’ve done nothing but follow the story quests, you won’t have seen. Although the Gendarren Fields is densely populated by monsters (black raptors) which will attack you on sight and despite the fact that your level will be scaled down, you shouldn’t struggle too much, especially if you watch your equipment. Explore as much as you can and grab that experience. You’ll need it next week, when we tackle Kellach again.

Kellach Won

Kellach definitely won, but that’s just given us chance to realize Tyria is much, much bigger than the areas we’ve currently explored. Thankfully, we’ve finally hit the level at which these intermediate locations are a little more accessible. We’re no longer going to be killed in four hits by a pack of raptors or the occasional bandit.  So this week, take the time to sniff the roses and actually look at the map. What areas are suitable for your level that you hadn’t noticed previously? Go off the beaten path, gain experience and ready yourself for battle. Next week we return to the palace in Divinity’s Reach in the hopes of saving the Queen.