Unwaking Waters

The great dragon Kuunavang has been corrupted by Shiro. Defeat Kuunavang to remove Shiro's control and seek its advice on what is to come. This mission features two parties working together to defeat Kuunavang.

Requirements

 * Your party will not be able to enter this mission unless it has eight members.

Objectives
Defeat Kuunavang.
 * Weaken Kuunavang to destroy the barrier.
 * Continue to weaken Kuunavang until the next barrier is destroyed.
 * Continue weakening Kuunavang until the last barrier is destroyed.
 * Defeat Kuunavang.

Reward

 * 1,000 allegiance faction points for each level of completion.
 * Faction is received on both Normal Mode and Hard Mode.
 * This faction can only be gained once on each side.
 * Faction cap is increased by 7,000 (only applies to the side this mission is entered from). This mission must be done twice (once from each side) to increase both the Kurzick faction cap and the Luxon faction cap.

Walkthrough
In this mission you follow the spiraling downwards path to the Harvest Temple in the heart of the jade whirlpool to confront Kuunavang. Your path is blocked by a series of three gates powered by the dragon herself, and you must damage her sufficiently to open each one and proceed. Plenty of Afflicted will assail you as you attempt this.

Kuunavang is a flying creature and stays well out of melee range for the early part of the mission, so a melee-heavy team may be disadvantaged. She is resistant to interruption and will take several interrupts to stop most of her skills, so several interrupt users will need to focus their fire. Their priority should be to interrupt Corrupted Dragon Scales, her most devastating skill. Her Dark Chain Lightning is also very dangerous; it inflicts enough damage to kill some death penalty weakened characters instantly.

The path downwards
Fight your way to the gate and clear the Afflicted in front of it. Keep the party spread out to minimize damage from Kuunavang's lightning and the Afflicted Soul Explosions. After you've removed the Afflicted, fight Kuunavang until the gate opens and she leaves, then move on to the next gate.

After each gate opens you will have access to a Resurrection Orb bundle, which can resurrect members of both teams when dropped. Save as many of these as you can for the final battle with Kuunavang.

After the third gate comes down it is possible to prevent the final Afflicted groups from spawning if you do not advance too far down into the whirlpool area. Wait near the gate for Kuunavang to fly up; back up if she flies away. You will need to nearly kill Kuunavang to end this fight; when her health is very low the battle will be halted by a cinematic, after which you will appear at the final showdown.

Showdown at Harvest Temple
You must defeat Kuunavang at the top of the Harvest Temple. Apply damage on Kuunavang, remember to stay spread out, and continue watching for Corrupted Dragon Scales. Should the Corrupted Scale creatures land, be sure to call them as targets since heroes, henchmen, and your Kurzick and Luxon NPC allies will all ignore them if you do not. A lack of human allies on the other side can be particularly trying in this phase of the mission; the entire NPC cast can only be made to attack one of the Corrupted Scales at a time.

Degen bypass
It is possible to do this mission without proceeding through the first gate: stack hex spells on Kuunavang to create as much long-lasting health degeneration as you can. When Kuunavang is sufficiently weakened the cinematic will play and you will be teleported to the center of the whirlpool. For the final fight, simply repeat the tactic. Using this method it is possible to use only henchmen for this mission.

During the final fight, be prepared to flag your heroes out of reach from the Corrupted Scales each time they spawn -- run with them, and keep up the degen when you're not running. You should be able to kill Kuunavang just before you run out of clear places to escape new patches of Corrupted Scales.

Using this method can easily result in completing this mission in less than 3 minutes.

Skill recommendations

 * You must use ranged attacks and skills to damage Kuunavang in the first phase of the mission.
 * In Unwaking Waters (Luxon), two of the three ranger henchmen deal physical damage, making Barbs invaluable.
 * Kuunavang is partially resistant to interrupts. To maximize your chances of preventing the dragon's skill use, take multiple interrupts and daze Kuunavang.
 * Armor-ignoring damage and life stealing bypass Kuunavang's high armor rating.
 * Bring skills that can help both parties, such as Binding Rituals (e.g. Life), Wards, and area-effect skills that can aid allies.
 * Consider party heals, such as Heal Party or Breath of the Great Dwarf.
 * Corrupted Scales are considered spirits and therefore immune to hex spells and all conditions except for burning. They are vulnerable to anti-summon skills (e.g. Banish or Consume Soul) and will trigger effects that depend on the presence of spirits.
 * Spoil Victor is useful due to Kuunavang's large amount of health.
 * Pain Inverter can be useful when Kuunavang uses Dark Chain Lightning. Minions can be used to absorb some of the damage from Dark Chain Lightning, so it will deal less damage when it hits party members.
 * Enchantment-based builds are vulnerable to Afflicted Necromancers, Afflicted Mesmers, and Kuunavang's Corrupted Breath.

Foes
Afflicted
 * 24 (26) Afflicted Warrior
 * 24 (26) Afflicted Ranger
 * 24 (26) Afflicted Monk
 * 24 (26) Afflicted Necromancer
 * 24 (26) Afflicted Mesmer
 * 24 (26) Afflicted Elementalist
 * 24 (26) Afflicted Assassin
 * 24 (26) Afflicted Ritualist

Dragon
 * 30 (32) Enraged Kuunavang
 * 30 (32) Kuunavang

Bosses
Afflicted
 * 28 (30) The Afflicted Maaka &rarr; Enraged Smash
 * 28 (30) The Afflicted Pana &rarr; Broad Head Arrow
 * 28 (30) The Afflicted Jingme &rarr; Ray of Judgment
 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Lau &rarr; Order of Apostasy
 * 28 (30) The Afflicted Hsin Jun &rarr; Stolen Speed
 * 28 (30) The Afflicted Shen &rarr; Mind Burn
 * 28 (30) The Afflicted Senku &rarr; Shadow Form
 * 28 (30) The Afflicted Xenxo &rarr; Weapon of Quickening

The Harvest Ceremony cinematic

 * Emperor Angsiyan: "Has the temple been secured?"
 * Temple Guard: "Yes, my emperor."
 * Temple Guard: "There is no one inside. Your safety is assured."
 * Emperor Angsiyan: "You will allow my retinue and my bodyguard to pass. They are coming with me."
 * Temple Guard: "But... but... no one except you is allowed inside the temple."
 * Temple Guard: "Those were your own orders."
 * Emperor Angsiyan: "There has been a change of plans. You will let them through."
 * Temple Guard: "As you wish."
 * The following dialogue occurs in Shiro's mind.
 * Fortune Teller: "Beware the Harvest Ceremony."
 * Fortune Teller: "Beware the Harvest Ceremony."
 * Fortune Teller: "The emperor... he is going to kill you..."
 * Emperor Angsiyan: "There has been a change of plans."
 * Temple Guard: "No one except you is allowed inside the temple."
 * Emperor Angsiyan: "There has been a change of plans."
 * Temple Guard: "No one except you is allowed inside the temple."
 * Emperor Angsiyan: "There has been a change of plans."
 * Fortune Teller: "The emperor... he is going to kill you..."
 * Fortune Teller: "Beware the Harvest Ceremony."
 * Fortune Teller: "You must make the choice... him or you."

Initial dialogue

 * Kuunavang: "Who are these mortals? Are they really so brave as to enter my domain? No, truly they are fools who wish for a ticket to the Underworld."

Intermediate dialogue
When the first gate opens.
 * Kuunavang: "Fools! How dare you enter my whirlpool and threaten me with your meager magic. Turn back now or die!"

When the second gate opens.
 * Kuunavang: "You have been lucky to get this far, but your luck has come to an end. There is still time to run, if you have found your wits."

End cinematic

 * Enraged Kuunavang: "You have released me from his grasp."
 *  : "Shiro's Grasp?"
 * Enraged Kuunavang: "Yes. It was his touch that corrupted my body and fought for control of my spirit."
 * Enraged Kuunavang: "His foul presence tore at my flesh and withered my bones. Still I resisted."
 * Enraged Kuunavang: "You brought me back to this life, and I owe you a tremendous debt."
 *  : "Please. It is enough of a reward to simply be in your presence."
 *  : "You owe us nothing."
 * Enraged Kuunavang: "Let me give you a piece of advice."
 * Enraged Kuunavang: "Never refuse a gift from someone who can swallow you whole."
 * Enraged Kuunavang: "When the time is right, I will grant you the powerful magics you require to defeat Shiro, the Unholy Deceiver."
 * Enraged Kuunavang: "Together we will send him back to the Underworld where he belongs."
 * Brother Mhenlo: "What is it he seeks?"
 *  : "Judging from the locations where we've encountered him, I'd say he's doing research."
 * Brother Mhenlo: "Research? For what?"
 * Master Togo: "Yes, you are right. He must be preparing a spell."
 * Brother Mhenlo: "A spell? To do what?"
 * Messenger Vetaura: "To leave the spirit realm and join your world again... as flesh and blood."
 * Courier Torivos: "We congratulate you. Your debt to us is nearly paid in full."
 * Courier Torivos: "Complete this final task, and you will have earned your mortality."
 * Master Togo: "What is it you ask of us?"
 * Messenger Vetaura: "Shiro is very close to getting what he is after."
 * Messenger Vetaura: "He needs to do only one last deed to cast his spell."
 *  : "What deed? What will he do?"
 * Herald Demrikov: "That which cursed him in the first place-he will spill the blood of the royal family."
 * Master Togo: "The emperor!"
 * Courier Torivos: "Yes. The blood of the emperor is the last component needed to give Shiro back his mortality."
 * Courier Torivos: "Your final task is to stop this from happening."
 * Messenger Vetaura: "Hurry now. You have no time to waste."