Mano a Norn-o

In this solo quest you fight one on one against Knorr Oaken, a Norn warrior. The Battle takes place within the Eye of the North.

Requirements
Look into the Scrying Pool in the Hall of Monuments.

Objectives

 * Speak to Artificer Mullenix when you are ready to duel with Knorr Oaken.
 * Stand as the champion for the Eye of the North and defeat Knorr Oaken for the sake of all humanity!
 * See Artificer Mullenix for your reward.

Reward

 * 100 Vanguard reputation points
 * Lockpick
 * Lockpick

General advice
After talking with Mullenix you will be left alone in the room with Knorr. After 30 seconds (during which he taunts you), he will become hostile, assume bear form, and attack you once you enter aggro range.

You can use the 30 second countdown to cast spells on yourself, set traps etc. You cannot do anything to him during this time because he is non-hostile.

Once he turns hostile, you can (and should) interrupt his bear transformation because it will make the fight much simpler. Maintaining blindness will effectively shut him down, because he only has melee attacks.

He will follow you everywhere in the main room as long as he's in aggro range. Once left outside the range he will return to the center of the room.

You can access the Hall of Monuments during the fight and he will not follow past the entrance. While you are in that room he will not depart farther than the entrance to the adjoining hallway. Be warned that if he starts an attack just as you cross the Hall divider, he will finish the attack and even follow you inside for a few steps, but will get out right after that.

His bear form wears down after a minute and takes 2 minutes to recharge. If interrupted, you can basically count on 2 minutes of him not using it again (but only 1 minute if it expires naturally).

In order to win you have to either take him down to 1/10 of his health, or maintain him around 50% health for about 2 minutes continuously. When either of these occur he will turn non-hostile and admit defeat.

You cannot actually kill him. Like the shrine-guarding Norn, he will recover health and turn friendly when that's about to happen.

Warrior
Once he turns into an enemy, use Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support along with "You Move Like a Dwarf!". Cast Barbs next, Hundred Blades, start attacking him (if you weren't already), and Sun and Moon Slash if you have the adrenaline.


 * Swordsmanship: 12
 * Curses: 12

Assassin
Use Disrupting Stab as lead attack as soon as he turns hostile, to interrup his bear form. Use Blinding Powder during the first combo to disable his melee attacks. Then just spam the lead/offhand/dual combo, it will be over in seconds. There's no need for any self-heal or any other skills.

Build:


 * Dagger Mastery 12
 * Shadow Arts 9

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Monk
Knorr can be easily defeated with a 55 Monk build wielding an Axe Of Enchanting. Keep your enchantments up and interrupt Healing Signet with Disrupting Chop or another interrupt skill. See the 55 Monk page for more information on this build's use.

Build:


 * Healing Prayer 6+3 (from superior rune)
 * Smiting Prayer 11+3+1 (from superior rune and headgear)
 * Protection Prayer 8+3 (from superior rune)
 * Divine Favor 10+3 (from superior rune)

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Alternate method: Take mesmer as your secondary profession and bring Cry of Pain or Cry of Frustration, Arcane Echo, and Ray of Judgment with preferably 16 Smiting Prayers. Interrupt his Bear Form, then cast Arcane Echo, Ray of Judgment, and then the echoed copy of Ray of Judgment as soon as he starts to attack you. He will die in seconds.

Alternate method: Take necromancer as your secondary profession. This method is slow but it requires only common skills. Take Pacifism and a handful of health degeneration hexes such as Life Siphon, Defile Flesh, Parasitic Bond, Faintheartedness and Putrid Bile. Draw him in the vicinity of the entrance to the monument room and step over the dividing line to pull him back whenever he wants to leave. Use Pacifism to render him harmless then apply all the hexes. Repeat several times and try to bring him around 50%, it's enough to win if a couple minutes pass.

Elementalist
Cast Fire Attunement and then Glyph of Sacrifice after Knorr becomes hostile, but before entering aggro range. Use Gale to interrupt Bear Form. Use Glyph of Elemental Power and then Mist Form to prevent him from attacking you. Then use Intensity and spam Flare to kill him. Glyph of Sacrifice is not necessarily needed, but it makes interrupting Bear Form much easier. A weapon of enchanting is also helpful.

Build:


 * Air magic 5
 * Fire Magic 13
 * Water magic 12
 * Energy storage 9

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Alternate method: Bring Blinding Flash to keep Knorr blind, rendering him powerless. Equip Air Attunement and Glyph of Lesser Energy for energy management to sustain blindness on him. Lightning Orb and Lightning Javelin should finish him off. Stats should be 12 Air Magic and 12 Energy Storage.

Necromancer
Stay outside of Knorr's aggro range until he becomes hostile, then cast Spiteful Spirit, Enfeeble, Soul Barbs, Price of Failure, and Reckless Haste. Use Signet of Lost Souls after a few seconds to regain energy and Insidious Parasite for life-stealing. Use Suffering for additional damage. He should be out in ~30 seconds. Additional energy from radiant armor or an energy-granting item is helpful.

Build:


 * Curses 12+1+3 (from headgear and superior rune)
 * Soul Reaping 12

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Ritualist
Remain outside Knorr's aggro range and wait for the countdown timer to end. Then, cast Arcane Echo and then Vengeful Was Khanhei. Enter Knorr's aggro range and interrupt his bear form with Cry of Frustration. Use Physical Resistance to reduce the damage you take and then cast Auspicious Incantation and Ignorance to prevent him from healing. Cast the echoed Vengeful Was Khanhei when the first one has ended. If he interrupts your Vengeful Was Khanhei, spam Vengeful Weapon until Vengeful Was Khanhei has recharged. Knorr should drop in a matter of seconds.

Build:


 * Restoration magic 12+1 (from headgear)
 * Inspiration magic 10
 * Domination magic 10

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Alternate method: Use a spirit spamming build. Begin setting up your spirits when about 10 seconds remain on the countdown timer; he will start taking damage immediately. Make sure to note the spirits' casting times. Bringing Painful Bond will drop him even faster, and Shadowsong will blind him, generally long enough for you to take him out. Example template code: OACjAuhqoOfzyZ0Ozt5ObXzqJA

Mesmer
Interrupt Knorr's Bear Form with Cry of Frustration, and cast Imagined Burden so that you can keep your distance from him. Maintain Conjure Nightmare to slowly sap Knorr's health. Use Cry of Frustration to interrupt Healing Signet, or Leech Signet if you're low on energy Use Ether Signet once your energy dips below the level required for it to be effective.

Build:


 * Domination magic 10
 * Illusion magic 10
 * Inspiration magic 11

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Alternate method: Anti-melee skills like Ineptitude, Clumsiness, Empathy, Wandering Eye and even Shrinking Armor shine here, and Visions of Regret works if not shutting down Knorr's melee skills ("I Am Unstoppable!" or other anti-knockdown). Ignorance or Complicate may be used to interrupt Healing Signet. Anti-adrenaline skills like Soothing Images can shut down Knorr's guaranteed knockdowns that depend on adrenaline, and a mixed Illusion/Domination caster with a skill interrupt (for Bear From) and then Ignorance + alternating Sympathetic Visage and Ancestor's Visage can completely shut down Knorr's skillbar, allowing for you to spam Wastrel's Worry. Cry of Pain may also be used.

Build 2:


 * Fast Casting 8
 * Domination magic 10
 * Illusion magic 11
 * Inspiration magic 8

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This bar is pretty much set in order of use. Cast Crippling Anguish at the start, then quickly interrupt his Bear Form with Cry of Pain, and cover that with Conjure Phantasm and Wastrel's Worry. He will try to heal, but you have Leech Signet for that. Make sure CA doesn't wear off and throw in Accumulated Pain inbetween his attempting heal and more Wastrels.

Paragon
Use Anthem of Flame and Signet of Aggression as soon as you enter the arena. Spam both on recharge until all of your adrenal attacks are charged. Interrupt Bear Form with Disrupting Throw then use skills 3-7 in succession. If he stops moving to use Healing Signet, use Cruel Spear then Spear of Lightning to take advantage of the reduced armor. It's possible to interrupt Healing Signet with Disrupting Throw, but not necessary.

Build:


 * Spear Mastery 12+1+3 (from headgear and superior rune)
 * Leadership 9
 * Command 9

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Dervish
Upon entering the arena, cast Faithful Intervention and Avatar of Balthazar. When the timer reaches 0 cast Heart of Fury and Eternal Aura. Hit Knorr with Zealous Sweep first and then spam your remaining attack skills. Use Mystic Regeneration if necessary, though Victorious Sweep should take care of any damage received.

Build:


 * Scythe Mastery 12+1
 * Earth Prayers 8+1
 * Mysticism 10+3+1

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Ranger
You can defeat him in about 10 seconds using common and easy to get skills.


 * Approach him during warm-up. Stop when he's about 2 dots inside your aggro bubble.
 * [optional] If you brought a trap (read the notes below) set it during warm-up on the spot where you stand.
 * When countdown reaches 5, cast Expert Focus. The preparation is mainly needed for Prepared Shot, but it also increases damage, helps with energy cost, and it uses Expertise points, not Wilderness Survival.
 * Immediately after that, cast Serpent's Quickness. It activates instantly and is effective even with zero points in Wilderness Survival.
 * It is critical to use Distracting Shot to interrupt his Bear Form as soon as he turns hostile.
 * Let him get close to you and use Throw Dirt. He is now mostly harmless for the next 10 or more seconds. He has also sprung the trap (if you set any) and has started taking damage.
 * Use the blindness duration to alternate a couple of bow attacks with Prepared Shot to regain energy. Pick bow attacks with high damage, low energy requirement (not higher than 10) and low recharge (3-4 seconds). Power Shot and Penetrating Attack are good choices. (You can capture Prepared Shot just outside the Eye from Johon the Oxflinger).
 * Watch for his Healing Signet and use Distracting Shot to interrupt and disable it, it will make things go much faster.
 * He should be defeated before the blindness wears off. If he is not, he will start dealing damage and knock-downs and it's probably best to try again. See below for suggestions about getting a few extra seconds or speed up his defeat.

Recommendations:
 * Take a recurve bow because it has the shortest flight time.
 * Do not get an IAS because you will spam attacks manually, not rely on bow fire rate.
 * There's no need to kite; focus on spamming attacks and interrupting.
 * Expertise 11 and Marksmanship 11 should be enough to do this. You can improve the ranks by +1 or +2 using runes.
 * Put any extra points in Wilderness Survival and bring Flame Trap.

Notes:
 * If you are under level 20 you will be under the effects of Journey to the North and will get rank 12 for Marksmanship and 9 for Expertise and Wilderness Survival. Be warned that this will reduce the blindness from Throw Dirt to 10 seconds and will make things slightly harder. In this case it might help to replace either Serpent's Quickness or Flame Trap with Troll Unguent or, if you have Assassin secondary, Shroud of Distress or Shadow Refuge. They will grant you a few extra seconds in which to finish him.

Build:


 * Expertise: 11 or higher
 * Marksmanship: 11 or higher
 * Wilderness Survival: any extra points

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Initial dialogue
Artificer Mullenix
 * [Solo Quest] "We have a bit of a problem. Of course, with all these Norn around, that shouldn't be too much of a surprise. You wouldn't believe how often Norn warriors wander down here and challenge us to duels to prove their valor. Then they go home and boast about how easy it is to defeat the "puny humans" in battle. Usually, we just ignore them and hope they go find something else to beat about the head."


 * "The latest barbarian to arrive, however...some brutish oaf named Knorr Oaken...simply won't leave. he's starting to cause a real problem. Nobody can get any work done what with constantly being challenged to single combat. You're the most battle-tested of anyone here at the Eye. Will you fight as our champion against this Norn?"


 * Yes I am ready.
 * ingame I am not ready.

Initial
Knorr Oaken
 * "What's this? I ask for a champion and they send me a flea!"
 * "Were you the runt of the litter, or is your entire pack this puny?"
 * "I've eaten bigger chunks of bear meat than you!"

After winning
Knorr Oaken
 * "Astounding! You have bested me. By the bear, you are unlike any human I have ever met. Well fought, little...big one."

Reward dialogue
Artificer Mullenix
 * ''"Well done! It's certainly good to see someone finally put those brutes in their place! That's the last we'll hear from Knorr Oaken, I imagine. With any luck, and a little help from a crafty artificer, the word will get out to the rest of the Norn about how he was defeated by a human. Take pride; you've raised the reputation of not only the Vanguard but our entire race with these barbarians."

NPCs
Norn
 * 20 Knorr Oaken

Trivia
The name of this quest is a reference to the Spanish phrase "Mano-a-mano."