The Jade Quarry

The Jade Quarry is a competitive mission in which the Luxons and Kurzicks fight for control over jade resources.

Access
This mission is entered from The Jade Quarry (Kurzick) or The Jade Quarry (Luxon).

General description
The Jade Quarry is a resource control arena that is fought between the Luxons and Kurzicks. There are three resource points known as Quarries, where jade is carried from those quarries, and back to the bases of Luxons or Kurzicks. When a faction gains control over a quarry, a Hauler Turtle will arrive if it is controlled by the Luxons, and a Carrier Juggernaut will arrive if it is controlled by the Kurzicks. The role of these two NPCs is to carry jade slabs from their quarry, and successfully return it to their respective bases.

General mechanics and win condition

 * The first team to transfer ten jade slabs back to their base, or have the most jade captured if time runs out, wins the match.
 * Each teams consists of eight players that are randomly assembled from those waiting in the Jade Quarry (Kurzick) and the Jade Quarry (Luxon) staging areas.
 * The map is balanced so that neither side has an advantage over the other. The three quarries are positioned (and colored) as follows: Purple quarry is closest to the Kurzicks, Green quarry is closest to the Luxons, and Yellow quarry is of equal distance from either side. There are a number of guard posts that are situated on the map which may be taken to assist or hinder the passage of players and jade carriers.
 * All players resurrect automatically in their base and do not receive death penalty. Each base has three one way teleporters that are labeled for each quarry. These teleporters will take you to a location that is somewhat close to the quarry that you want to travel to.

Capturing

 * Quarries and Guard posts can be controlled by either faction. In order to gain control over one of these areas, all enemy NPCs occupying that area must be killed. Once control has been gained, allied NPCs will spawn and guard that area. At the start of the match, quarries are unclaimed. Gaining control of any of these quarries at the start will require a player to stand on the stone platform of that quarry.
 * Each quarry has five NPCs; a ranger, two mesmers and two air elementalists. Each guard post can have between two to four rangers depending on the location of the guard post when it is controlled.

Rewards

 * Imperial faction that is awarded at the end of a match:
 * Each team receives 300 for each jade slab collected.
 * The winning side receives an additional 1,000.
 * Players receive 10 Imperial faction plus 10 Balthazar faction per kill in real time.

General strategies

 * Death, in some builds, may be a good form of energy management, and a great way to step back and reassess the situation to be of most use.
 * Because this is a large map, mobility is important, so speed buffs for you and/or a jade carrier are considered useful.
 * Speed boosts which can target allies can also be used on the jade carriers. "Make Haste!" and Windborne Speed are often used.
 * Sometimes carriers get stuck inside the base when they were attacked or were killed several times by a player, and will not run jade even though the quarries are capped, giving the other team an advantage. For a solution, allow the other team to capture the quarry, and then immediately capture it back. This usually fixes the NPC.
 * A strategic approach should not be discounted. Sometimes it is wise to constantly attack or defend one of the three quarries, where as other times it maybe wiser to attack/defend differing quarries through out the match.  Also, it maybe wise to "float".  If a quarry you generally defend is safe, it may be prudent to go and attack other quarries or NPC's.

Attack

 * The main focus is to ensure that you have control over majority of the NPCs on the map, so that they can perform the tasks needed for your team to win. Killing the defending NPCs or killing jade carriers are your most important priorities.
 * If the quarry is taken by your side, and the opposition's carrier was on its way towards that quarry, it will head back to its base. When this is the case do not kill it. By leaving it alive, the jade carrier will have to 'walk' to the quarry if it is re-captured by the opposition, and will waste time. If it is killed, it will 'spawn' at the quarry with the other NPCs allowing the opposition an advantage.
 * It is advised that when playing offensively, you don't attack any opposing players unless they are directly impeding your ability to take a post or kill a carrier.
 * NPCs at a quarry spawn in a "V" shape. If using an Area of Effect skill, finding the most central NPC is most effective. If freshly spawned, and not dispersed by previous AoE, the tip of the "V" will always be one of the two Mesmers.

Defense

 * Keeping the jade carriers safe is a high priority - play smart! Sometimes it is wise to escort the carrier the entire distance, other times it is wise to move onto killing a NPC.
 * Ensure that the guard posts en route of the allied jade carrier are held by your team's NPCs. This will not only prevent the carrier from taking damage, but it will also help protect the carrier from enemies that try to kill it.
 * NPC rangers have the highest armor rating compared to the other NPCs. Keeping them alive will be easier to do than protecting the others.
 * Interrupters work well defensively. Having an interrupter can impede an offensive spell-caster from taking a shrine.
 * An assassin and mesmer team can be a potent force in protecting a quarry (while the caster is being distracted and interrupted, the Sin can easily have its way with the caster.) Be on the lookout for this duo, as well as looking to form such a partnership yourself.

By topic
Generally speaking, there are four ways you can help your team to win. They include healing, AoE damage, sinning, and interrupting. But note, you could play a combination of these and be, for instance, part healer part AoE damage.
 * Healing. A dedicated healer will protect a quarry and will stay at the quarry the entire time.  Because of the difficulty of protecting multiple NPC's, it generally is advised to focus healing only one NPC (usually the Ranger, because he has more armor than a Mesmer or Ele.)  Generally speaking, the more popular and effective dedicated healers are a Ritualist with Preservation, or a Monk with Zealous Benediction, or preferably, Word of Healing.  By contrast, a part healer will do their best to keep quarry NPC's alive, but also will perform other tasks.  For instance, a part healer can do their best to keep a quarry ranger alive, or do their best to escort a Jade Carrier back to the base.
 * AoE. A dedicated AoE makes killing quarry NPC's their main priority.  Generally speaking, the more popular and affective AoE dealers are a level 16 Smiting Prayers Ray of Judgement Monk, a Searing Flames or Shatterstone Elementalist, a Death Magic Contagion Necromancer, a Incendiary Arrows or Barrage Ranger, a Channeling Magic Destructive Was Glaive Ritualist or a Domination Mesmer.  Each of these AoE dealers have unique advantages, and none is always better than the other.
 * For instance, a Ray of Judgement Monk can kill an quarry full of max health NPC's with just one cast, and have the benefit of being a Monk and a great (part time) healer.
 * Yet a fire Elementalist can have an advantage over a Ray of Judgement(RoJ) Monk because, unlike a RoJ Monk which is vulnerable to interuption, a fire Ele usually has back up spells and can continue to deal damage even if their primary spell was interupted.
 * A Contagion Necro, like a RoJ Monk, can kill a quarry of max health NPC's in one attack (although the Contagion Build usually kills its user after use). The stealth and surprise of this build can be very crafty if executed strategically (use your head—at times is wiser to kill some quarries instead of others.)
 * A Incendiary Arrow or Barrage Ranger has multiple advantages. Attacked from a elevated height, quarry NPC's cannot attack the Ranger and bows have increased range and damage.  Furthermore, the Ranger has access to strategic interupts like Distracting Shot which can help the Ranger fulfill a dual purpose.
 * A Domination Mesmer, like a Barrage Ranger, has the ability to apply AoE damage—Chaos Storm as well as other Domination skills—as well as being able to interrupt key spells of the other team.
 * Sinning. This topic is called sinning, although it may include other professions like Warrior and Paragon.  However, Warrior's and Paragon's, generally speaking, are built to tank (a role that isn't too helpful in this form of play.)  A sin's main task is to kill dedicated healers, although he can have additional purpose (to be discussed later).  AoE damage dealers and (some) interrupters find it difficult to kill a dedicated healer, while a sin, designed to kill one target quickly and effectively, may be the deciding force in killing the dedicated healer.  A sin can also "pick off" reckless spell caster.  For instance, an Ele who is running to a quarry is trying to reclaim a quarry for their side, can be considered distracted, and maybe easily sinned before ever reaching the quarry.
 * Interrupting. Interrupting can be dedicated or part time.  A part time interrupter may have a skill or two dedicated to interrupting, where as a dedicated interrupter may have much more.  The advantage to a dedicated Interrupter is that they are able to interrupt multiple targets and multiple skills (like in the case of a Fire Elementalist casting more than one spell).
 * These are the general strategies for purpose, and there are many more specific strategies that could be named. It is worth noting that it is a combination of these strategies that give favor and a winning edge to a team.

Strategy for Rangers

 * A longbow or flatbow can be used to attack the quarry NPCs from high ground while leaving them unable to counter-attack. This is particularly effective with Barrage or Incendiary Arrows.
 * If attacking isn't working, and all of your shrines are falling to the enemy, the ledges above the near shrine works as a very effective choke point for rangers, allowing at least one jade carrier to be alive.

Strategy for Ritualists
Defensive Binding Rituals used in the center of the map can affect a large portion of the game area, allowing you to help keep your allies safe from harm.


 * It isn't really necessary to defend a guard-post because they convert too frequently and easily. Instead, if an enemy player is on their way to take one of these posts, you can either let them take it and then re-take it once they have gone (yielding a full team at the guard-post), or go ahead and attempt to kill the enemy player yourself.

Strategy for Healers

 * Use condition and hex removal on the jade carrier so it can move without being impeded.

Taking Quarries and Guard Posts

 * It is important to be able to quickly turn quarries and guard posts to your side. Area of Effect spells, attacks and skills such as Ray of Judgment are particularly effective here. The NPCs do not heal themselves and do not stray far enough from their spawn point to effectively avoid area of effect damage.
 * The mesmers at the quarries use spell and attack interrupts, so be prepared.
 * If you are unable to take a point due to the number of opposition players there, consider resurrecting, and going to another point which isn't as heavily defended.

NPC
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Kurzicks (blue)

 * Blue Base
 * 20 Kommandant Durheim
 * 20 Kurzick Base Defender x6


 * Carriers
 * 20 Green Carrier Juggernaut
 * 20 Purple Carrier Juggernaut
 * 20 Yellow Carrier Juggernaut


 * Caravan Guard points
 * 20 Kurzick Far Shot x2 (eastern guard post)
 * 20 Kurzick Far Shot x3 (central and northwestern guard posts)
 * 20 Kurzick Far Shot x4 (southern guard post)


 * Quarries
 * Kurzick Far Shot
 * Kurzick Illusionist x2
 * Kurzick Thunder x2

Luxons (red)

 * Red Base
 * 20 Erek
 * 20 Luxon Base Defender x6


 * Carriers
 * 20 Green Hauler Turtle
 * 20 Purple Hauler Turtle
 * 20 Yellow Hauler Turtle


 * Caravan Guard points
 * 20 Luxon Longbow x2 (southern guard post)
 * 20 Luxon Longbow x3 (central and northwestern guard posts)
 * 20 Luxon Longbow x4 (eastern guard post)


 * Quarries
 * Luxon Longbow
 * Luxon Wizard x2
 * Luxon Storm Caller x2
 * }

Trivia and Notes

 * This a particularly good place to farm Balthazar faction without entering high-rank GvG or HA. It allows you to work on your Zaishen, Luxon and/or Kurzick titles effectively.
 * Due to this lucrative bounty, the mission tends to attract leechers. To help fight against this trend, /report them for leeching. This can result in the player being temporarily banned from PvP activities via the Dishonorable Combatant System.
 * As the mission can be accessed freely on either side by players representing either faction, players may chose to assist either the Kurzicks or the Luxons, irrespective of their Guild's affiliation.
 * Exploring the area is frowned upon by some players of both factions, but don't let them discourage you: you're allowed to explore there. There is at least 1 % for the Cartographer title.
 * You can score 12 points on rare occasions, getting a total of 4,600 Imperial faction.