Guild Wars: A Productive Weekend

So, not only did we have the Rawr Cup this weekend but we, that is me, also had enough free time to finally spend some decent time in game. I used the opportunity to finish off GW:EN with my Monk.

The Great Destroyer took a bit of preplanning after a crash and burn, literally, in my initial run. I ended up running Extinguish and Breath of the Great Dwarf on the same bar and just chainging them to get rid of the degen. For the rest of my party I went with dueling Paragons with Song of Restoration and some other Motivation stuff. I also went with a warder - Stability being really helpful to have around - and finally found a use for Ward Against Harm. Combined with putting Mantra of Flames on everyone and me putting Pain Inverter up on the big bad, it was a short but sweet fight. Had no idea what to do with my Dwarven key since none of the prizes especially appealed to me - I'll just throw it in storage because I have a few other characters to get through the campaign, too.

As for the story, meh, it's an interesting idea but I'm not sure it was executed well enough. Really doesn't matter, though, since the point was to set up GW2. My feelings about that game are pretty mixed so that deeply colors my attitude, I think, but I was definitely gnashing my teeth at the closing cinematic. Just, yeah, DO NOT WANT.

Completing the campaign meant a trip through the Heart of the Shiverpeaks so my DM's guide is now missing but one page. That of the elite Slaver's Exile dungeon that I've now unlocked. Yeah, I've done almost all the dungeons at this point although my diving series is lagging behind - I'm hopefully going to start posting them again once I finish burning through the bmp. I was tempted to turn it in to reap the rewards but I think I'll hold onto it until I check out the mega-dungeon. I've heard it's henchable and completing it basicaly doubles the book's rewards.

I did, however, turn in my completed player's guide to the Asurans for mad rep points, pulling me nearly even with my Delver rank, setting them both at 6. My Norn and Agent ranks are at 3. Why'd I rep up with the hated Asurans? Pain Inverter, son. Now that it's damage capped it's no longer completely insane but it's still strong. Eats up anything using AoE.

Spent a little time in Glint's Challenge, too. Haven't quite made it all the way through yet since it's just me and the AI - have to figure out a team that can survive the onslaught and still have enough killing power to mow things down quickly enough to avoid being overwhelmed. But I did well enough to farm several Destroyer cores. Enough, at least, that the next character I run through the dungeons can grab Light of Deldrimor right away.

Flush with riches, I crafted a bunch of new armor for myself, too. Didn't get around to my other characters yet but plenty of funds and materials left over so it shouldn't take long. My Monk, though, now sports several new suits. I kitted her out with 55 armor (Although I still need to find out where I stashed my -50 Cesta. Knowing me, I probably sold it off a long time ago. But I have several Ascalonian charactes and one of them probably still has it in their quest log. It won't take long to get another one even if they don't.). I went with Dragon tats dyed black and silver because I'm old school like that. I decided to eschew prestige armor, not because I can't afford it but because I actually like the look of the Dragon armor better than Flowing or Star. And any of the other Monk prestige sets, really. I like my armor plain and simple instead of ornate and intricate, after all. Besides, most of the expensive sets have those funky shoulder pads that I just can't stand. I also whipped up a set of survivor armor to go along with the radiant set I already had, plunking down the cash for a full set of runes to pimp them out with, including a Superior Vigor. Haven't figured out how to dye it yet, though.

And, while I was at it, I picked up the last of the PvE only skills I was missing. The hardest one to get was the final Norn one, I Am Unstoppable, from the quest Cold as Ice. That Griffon is a tough fight, especially when you're just a Monk. Even with a 55 it's not a walk in the park because of Bloodsong's lifestealing. Picked up one of the Heroes I was missing getting though the Norn tournament as well. I still need to replay it in order to get the Dervish one but I'm not exactly in a huge hurry there.

Combined with the excellent PvP action I saw the other day, it was a nice weekend all told. With the holidays coming up, I'm not sure just how many like that I'll be able to have. And I still have plenty of items left to cross off my master "To Do" list. But, for now, I'm content.