Fort Ranik

Your party must push the invading Charr army back to the Northern Wall, using any means at your disposal, including 2 trebuchets you find en route.

Objectives
Retake the Great Northern Wall.
 * Push back the invading Charr army.
 * ADDED: Locate the RESTRAINING BOLT [sic] and return it to Siegemaster Lormar.
 * ADDED: Locate the ARMING CRANK [sic] and return it to Siegemaster Lormar.
 * ADDED: Locate the RELEASE LEVER [sic] and return it to Siegemaster Lormar.
 * *BONUS* Rescue Deeter Saberlin from his Charr imprisonment.

Walkthrough
Follow the road a long way to the north, going through several mobs of enemies. Eventually, you will come to a broken trebuchet with Siegemaster Lormar standing nearby and a very large mob of Charr a bit further off. A cinematic will trigger as you approach Lormar, who will fill you in on what you need to do.

Basically, you need to collect parts to help Lormar fix the trebuchet, so he can use it to dispatch the Charr forces. The map in the infobox on the upper right marks the locations of the broken parts. They are all very nearby and in different directions from the trebuchet. Use the ALT key to scan for Wrecked Catapults. The Wrecked Catapults are what you need to click on to obtain a trebuchet part. It is not difficult to spot them because there is usually a Charr mob near each of them. The parts are all nearby; there is no need to backtrack the way you came.

The character who clicks on the Wrecked Catapult will hold the part in his or her hand (a bundle). Give the part to Lormar talking to him (i.e. click on him), and the quest log will update. Do this three times, once for each of the three parts.

Once the trebuchet is fixed, you can use the lever to activate it and fire it. Do note that you have to wait for the activation or loading animation to complete before you can fire it. You may want to fire it multiple times to kill off as many Charr as possible. If you are a high enough level (recommended above level 11), it is possible to kill the Charr without using the trebuchet, since you can complete the mission without repairing the trebuchet and it may be faster for high-level characters who do not wish to waste time carrying the several required bundles. It is still very difficult without the right party of players at high enough levels.

When there are no more Charr within range of the first trebuchet, it is time to move onto the second. Avoid aggroing any Charr until you use the second trebuchet. The second trebuchet is further down from the first trebuchet and is easy to miss. You do not need to fix the second trebuchet; it is ready for use. It is aimed at a different spot than the first trebuchet so use it to clear more Charr. If a party member is fast enough or lucky enough, it might even be able to kill the boss and its mob, which would end the mission.

A method to kill the Charr mobs that are on the path to the boss is to have one party member move slowly near the spot where the second trebuchet fires onto (which is marked by the burning object), which will trigger those mobs to run to and stand in that spot, go fire the trebuchet or have another character do it. This will clear the path to the boss. Killing the boss and its mob will complete the mission.

Bonus
The proper way of acquiring the bonus is to protect Master Armin Saberlin, who joins your party early in the mission (point 1A). He will follow you up to the large ruined wall (1B). After killing the mob with the boss in it, you can talk to him to activate the bonus if he is still alive; however, it actually does not matter if he survives or not - performing the task is enough to complete the bonus, regardless of whether it actually shows up in the mission objectives. The task that Armin Saberlin gives is to save his son, Trooper Deeter Saberlin. Finding Deeter only takes a minor detour (2) from the main path. There, you will have to fight two Charr Overseers. It can be a little difficult for parties to take them out, due to Heal Area. When you finish them off, talk to Trooper Deeter Saberlin to complete the bonus.

In hard mode, it is better to ignore Master Armin Saberlin than to get your party killed trying to save him, since you can still complete the bonus despite not seeing it in the quest log. In this situation, it is also recommended to leave the main path right after you cross the bridge at the start of the mission. Take a right and follow the path behind a group of rocks while the main Charr forces engage the soldiers NPCs rushing ahead. You will need to kill one mob that patrols your way, but when you leave at the other side most of the enemies will be stationed out of your aggro range.

Skill recommendations

 * Skills that can counter hexes are extremely useful in the early stages of the mission.

This mission can prove challenging in Hard mode because it calls on a wide range of disciplines and because different sections require different specialties at different times. The mission is effectively divided into thirds, and each third requires different skills: the introductory area, the canyon, and the trebuchet tar pits. The first third of the mission is heavy on hexes, namely Lingering Curse and Faintheartedness, that cause large quantities of area of effect health degeneration while simultaneously suppressing healing. This necessitates both hex removal for the whole party and pressure healing. The subsequent canyon (in which Deeter Saberlin can be rescued) is rife with Charr Stalkers on the ledges, who deal light but significant damage that makes spells like Spirit Bond and Protective Spirit next to useless. The canyon walls confuse minions (making minion masters a poor choice for this mission) and interfere with projectile spells and ranged attacks. Note also that almost every Charr mob before and after the canyon features Charr Blade Warriors, who can can remove stances with Wild Blow, effectively negating the advantages of stances. In addition, Charr Mind Sparks are known to remove enchantments, so enchantments with long recharge times (like Elementalist attunements) are a liability. Lastly, Charr Martyrs and Charr Overseers field Shield of Judgment, so a single enchantment removal skill or a daze inflicting skill is mandatory for the bonus.

Allies
Human (Ascalon Army)
 * 5 (20) Ascalonian Warrior
 * 4 (20) Captive Soldier
 * 5 (20) Gurn Blanston
 * 5 (20) Master Armin Saberlin
 * 4 (20) Trooper Deeter Saberlin
 * 5 (20) Ascalon Militia
 * 5 (20) Ascalonian Ranger
 * 4 (20) Ascalon Engineer
 * 4 (20) Siegemaster Lormar

Charmable animals
Animals
 * 3 Moa Bird

Foes
Charr Devourers
 * 6 (23) Charr Axe Warrior
 * 6 (23) Charr Blade Warrior
 * 6 (23) Charr Warrior
 * 6 (23) Charr Stalker
 * 5 (23) Charr Martyr
 * 6 (23) Charr Overseer
 * 6 (23) Charr Ash Walker
 * 8 (23) Charr Ashen Claw
 * 6 (23) Charr Mind Spark
 * 6 (23) Charr Fire Caller
 * 4 (22) Carrion Devourer
 * 3 (22) Plague Devourer

Bosses
Charr
 * 8 (26) Spar the Ravager
 * 8 (26) Klaww FeatherStorm
 * 8 (26) Rrrack Whitefire
 * 8 (26) Roarst One Eye
 * 8 (26) Craze the Unforgiving
 * 8 (26) Torch Spitfur

Initial dialogue

 * Ascalon Militia: "The Charr have pushed past the cathedral."
 * Ascalon Militia: "If we don't stop them, thousands of our countrymen will die."

Intermediate dialogue
When activating the bonus:
 * Master Armin Saberlin: "My son Deeter was carried off by the Charr after the first wave. Please find him. He's all I have left."

Prior to rescuing the prisoners.
 * Trooper Deeter Saberlin: "Help! The Overseers were too much for us!"

After rescuing the prisoners:
 * Captured Soldier: "Our lives would have been worth less than Charr meat had we not returned [sic]. We owe you our thanks."
 * Trooper Deeter Saberlin: "The Charr have slaughtered and carried off many of our friends. They must be stopped."
 * Trooper Deeter Saberlin: "I will report back to my father. If you can get to the trebuchets north of here perhaps there is hope."
 * Trooper Deeter Saberlin: "Thank you friend. I will support my father's group. You should go on."

By the first trebuchet:
 * Ascalon Engineer: "Charr! There are Charr everywhere. This isn't good. No, not good at all."
 * Ascalon Engineer: "The Charr aren't anything without their claws and teeth. If you can stay away from those, you'll be fine."
 * Ascalon Engineer: "If you can get one of these trebuchets working, you might be able to smash a few of those Charr."

Intermediate cinematic

 * Siegemaster Lormar: "Damn Charr snuck up on me while i was repairing this trebuchet."
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "Its missing a release lever, restraining bolt, and an arming crack."
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "Search the other wrecked trebuchets to find those three pieces, and bring them to me."
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "If you do. We can fix this little lovely, and we'll give those Charr a taste of their own filth"
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "To activate the trebuchet after it's fixed, pull the lever once to load it and once to fire it."
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "Anything under its blast will get blown to bits."
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "But hurry. More Charr come through the Wall every minute."

Intermediate dialogue 2
Before giving him any parts:
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "I can't make it fire if you don't bring me the parts to repair it."

After giving him the Salvaged Arming Crank first:
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "That's a sight for sore eyes. An arming crank. Get me a release lever and a restraining bolt. Hurry now."

After giving him the Salvaged Release Lever first:
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "Ah, you found a release lever. Good work. But I still need a retraining [sic] bolt and an arming crank. Keep searching."

After giving him the Salvaged Restraining Bolt first:
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "Praise Dwayna, you found a restraining bolt. I'll hook it up while you look for a release lever and an arming crank."

After giving him two out of the three parts:
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "I just need [an arming crank...a release lever...a restraining bolt] to blast those Charr back over the Wall."

After collecting all the parts to the trebuchet:
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "To activate the trebuchet, pull the lever once to load it and once again to fire it. Anything under its blast will get blown to bits."

End cinematic

 * Prince Rurik: "The time for action has come. No more cowering behind this wall!"
 * Prince Rurik: "From now on, we take the fight to our enemies"
 * Ascalon Guard: "Prince Rurik!"
 * Ascalon Guard: "Prince Rurik!"
 * Prince Rurik: "What is it?"
 * Ascalon Guard: "Prince Rurik. We are victorious, but it has cost us greatly"
 * Ascalon Guard: "During their retreat the Charr took prisoners. Several of our wounded have been carried off."
 * Prince Rurik: "Ascalon will live in fear of these beasts no more."
 * Prince Rurik: "We march to the north, to free our brothers and take back that which has been taken from us."