Fort Aspenwood

From Guild Wars Wiki

This is a mission entry. For information on the corresponding Kurzick or Luxon mission outposts, see Fort Aspenwood (Kurzick) and Fort Aspenwood (Luxon) respectively.

Fort Aspenwood
Campaign	Factions
Region	Echovald Forest
Type	Competitive
Party size	8

Important points in the mission. Amber buttons indicate amber mines, which function as resurrection shrines for Luxons or amber sources for Kurzicks, depending on who controls them.

[edit] General mechanics

Fort Aspenwood (Sometimes shortened to "FA" by players) is an invasion-type arena that is fought between Luxons and Kurzicks. For this mission, you are placed in random groups of 8. The Kurzicks (blue team) will be defending a fort with the aid of NPCs which include gate guards, while the Luxons (red team) will have an assortment of NPC troops and other guards to assist them with the invasion of the fort.

The Kurzicks will begin within a fort consisting of five gates that are guarded. These gates are called Outer Purple and Inner Purple for the left, with Outer Orange and Inner Orange to the right. There is also a Green gate at the center of the fort, which is the last guard point before reaching Master Architect Gunther. Inside the Green Gate are also two gate guards, who hold the role of repairing the gates should they be breached. If you bring either of the Gatekeepers amber, they will immediately repair the gates of their respective color, with priority going to the Green Gate, and with the two outer gates repaired last. Master Architect Gunther will not repair any gates at any time during gameplay, instead he increases the progress of Gods' Vengeance by a percentage depending on the quality of amber brought to him.

The Luxons begin with two assault posts and three Amber Mines which all of them are guarded by NPCs. The assault posts are used to dispatch a squad of Luxon Warriors with Siege Turtle, which is capable of attacking with a large amount of AoE damage to destroy gates.

Both sides begin with five control points.

[edit] Capturing

The three Amber Mines as well as the two Command Posts can be controlled by either faction, but are initially given to the Luxons at the start of the match. In order to gain control over one of these areas, all enemy NPCs that are occupying that area will need to be killed. Once control has been gained, allied NPCs will spawn and guard that area. The gates can only be controlled by Kurzicks, but once a gate has been breached, the Kurzicks will not benefit from them until they are repaired.

While the Luxons control an Amber mine, it will act as a resurrection point for them. Luxons will resurrect depending on how far they died, and what Amber Mine they control. If they do not control any mines, they will resurrect in their own base.

While the Kurzicks control an Amber mine, it will provide them with a supply of Amber Chunks that they will carry as a Bundle, to be taken back to either a gate guard to repair gates, or given to Master Architect Gunther to speed up the Gods' Vengeance weapon by a percentage. If a Kurzick dies while carrying an amber chunk, it will disappear after a short time, if a Luxon player picks it up it will disappear immediately. Be aware that Master Architect Gunther and the two Gate Guards will not take any delivered amber if they are in combat with the enemy. Also be aware that high quality refined amber chunks will not benefit the creation of a new gate, it will be repaired with the same quality as with amber from raw amber mine.

The Kurzick side will win once Gods' Vengeance has reached its peak at 100% whereas the Luxon side wins as soon as Master Architect Gunther is killed. The bar for Gods' Vengeance progresses on its own at a rate of 1% per 6 seconds, but can be quickened by delivering Raw Amber Chunks from the Orange and Purple amber mines to Master Architect Gunther to add 2% to the total, or Refined Amber Chunks from the Green amber mine for a 4% addition to the weapon's completion.

[edit] Mission information

[edit] Requirements

You must be level 20 to enter this mission.

[edit] Objectives

[edit] Luxon

Kill the Kurzick's [sic] Master Architect.

• Order the Luxon gate commanders to dispatch troops to defeat the Kurzicks and their gate guards.
• Help thwart the completion of the Kurzicks' weapon, Gods' Vengeance, by preventing them from gathering amber.
• Take out Master Architect Gunther before Gods' Vengeance is complete.
• Keep the Amber mines and protect them to stop the Kurzicks from speeding up the completion of Gods' Vengeance and repairing their gates.
• Protect the Siege Turtle squads so they can help you break through the gates and provide you with support.
• Protect the Orange and Purple Command posts so the Siege Turtle squads can respawn.

[edit] Kurzick

Defend Fort Aspenwood until The Gods' Vengeance is complete.

• Make sure that Master Architect Gunther survives.
• Deliver Amber to each of the gatekeepers to repair destroyed gates or to Gunther to speed up Gods' Vengeance.
• Capture the amber mines to get access to amber.
• Protect the amber mines to hinder the resurrection of Luxon players.
• Capture the Green amber mine for refined amber (which has double the effect of regular amber on Gods' Vengeance).
• Prioritize killing Siege Turtles first as their siege attacks can be deadly, especially to NPCs.

[edit] Rewards

• Kurzick players will receive a faction point reward of 15 times the final completion percentage of the Vengeance of the Gods.
• Luxon players will receive 300 faction points for each unique gate destroyed during the mission.
• Players on the winning team will be awarded a further bonus of 1000 faction points.
• Players will receive 10 Luxon/Kurzick faction and 10 Balthazar faction per kill.

[edit] Walkthrough

See the objectives above.

[edit] Strategies

[edit] Luxon

• This is an offensive map for the Luxon side. There are two conflicting views regarding strategy.

1. If you are not attacking within the Kurzick base, you are not likely helping your team win.
2. The speed at which a mine is captured will influence your team's ability to win. A mine under Kurzick control allows amber carriers to repair gates, so be sure to have it under your control as often as possible. As revised, by holding mines, you ensure that your allies will resurrect closer to the front lines, than they would be if they resurrected in the Luxon base. Some player builds are very ineffective at taking a mine. Builds which use AoE damage skills are more effective in taking out mines and gates than single target builds. If your build can't take a mine let someone else do it; you aren't helpful if you die without killing the mine NPCs.

• Because Kurzick NPCs are overwhelmingly anti-physical, and walls and gates hinder direct line of sight, bringing any class that relies on physical attacks is strongly discouraged. Fire Elementalists (to kill NPCs/pressure healers), Monks (to heal/protect the turtles and players), Mesmers (to shut down Kurzick healers/turtle stallers) and Necromancers (to remove enchantments/raise minions) are the most effective Luxon attackers. Tanks are the least effective, since stalling benefits the Kurzick players.
• Snare skills are effective in this mission, as they reduce the mobility of the other team, giving you more time to take down gates, and also slow down and kill Kurzicks running amber to repair gates.
• Don't always wait for the turtles to break down gates and kill NPCs - they are intentionally programmed to move slowly and are not effective at advancing. Attacking the gate NPCs, especially the Green Gate, will help increase chances of winning. Try to not rely on the turtle to do this.
• Waiting for the turtle to advance is usually a guaranteed way to lose. Succeeding in this mission requires you to push forward yourself. It is possible for Kurzick players to run into aggro range of the turtle and stall it indefinitely. When this happens players will need to eliminate the Kurzick player or move on without the turtle, as they should do normally.
• Counter bonders by attacking them directly to force them away from their charge, or bring counter-enchantment skills such as Well of the Profane.
• Should a command point fall to the Kurzicks, ensure that the currently advancing siege turtle survives for as long as possible. Ideally, you should only recapture the command point if the advancing turtle has been killed. By following this procedure, a Siege Turtle will spawn immediately once the command point has been recaptured.
• If you have a chance of breaching and breaking beyond Green Gate, use it. The Gatekeepers cannot repair gates while you are fighting them. This will likely cause Kurzicks to fall back and fight you once they revive at their base, removing pressure from your allies and helping Siege Turtles proceed.
• Once a Gatekeeper is killed, gates of his color cannot be repaired again. A dead Gatekeeper is also incapable of healing Master Architect Gunther. The deaths of both Gatekeepers will improve your ability to kill Gunther.
• While in Gunther's chamber, do not blindly focus everything on Gunther. Take out the Gatekeepers first and analyze what opposing players there are. High damage monk killers, AoE and healers should be killed or, even better, disabled (via Insidious Parasite, Empathy, Backfire, or blocks). Most Kurzick players will immediately fall back at their base to defend Gunther, and if ignored they will quickly tear apart your team.
• Do not be afraid to sacrifice yourself. The death gives nothing but faction to the other team. Killing one or more extra NPCs is often worth the six second respawn.

[edit] Kurzick

• Running amber is vital to Kurzick success as it is the only way to replenish NPC allies, so capturing Amber Mines should be a priority. It is good to have two or three team members running amber constantly to ensure the gates are fortified.
• If a gate needs to be repaired, you should always give amber to its gatekeeper. The extra time this buys you is more beneficial than the few percentage points of progress Gunther rewards you with. Do not leave amber on ground to wait for later use, though, as it will shortly disappear.
• The green gate can be repaired by giving amber to either of the Gatekeepers. The green gate has priority as the first gate to be repaired if it is breached, with the two outer gates repaired last.
• Because the gatekeepers do not repair gates when in combat, it is important to not let Luxons beyond Green Gate, and kill off quickly any who do make it in. It is also useful to save amber if the Luxons appear close to breaking the Green Gate. If the Luxons break through the gate and get into Gunther's chamber, it will be difficult to get any gates repaired.
• Preventing the Siege Turtle from using Siege Turtle Attack by means of interruption will keep your allies from taking the large amount of damage that it deals. Note however that Siege Turtles will require multiple interrupt attempts before actually being interrupted. Also keep in mind that the Siege Turtle is immune to all knockdown effects except the Juggernaut's Juggernaut Toss skill.
• Your last line of defense is keeping Master Architect Gunther alive. The gatekeepers are also important to keep alive as they assist in healing Gunther as well. Carefully monitoring which NPCs are under fire is the key to help them survive.
• The gates are not very wide making them perfect places to set Traps. It's not recommended running a trap build though because it's very common for a single player, NPC or a minion to set them all off.
• Capturing the Command Posts early in the game may give you an edge for a minute or less. It is recommended to ignore these targets unless later in the game both mines are under Kurzick control and the brunt of Luxon troops are not within the Kurzick base.
• Turtle bonders can be tricky to deal with, often being masters of kiting. Disabling spells usually work best.
• Killing the Luxon NPC Warriors is very beneficial because they can kill Kurzick NPCs and weak players in no-time. They won't spread out much, mostly attacking the same target. Because they don't spread out, you can use AoE skills to kill them very effectively. On the other hand, if a Siege Turtle has been killed, any remaining Luxon Warriors will prevent a new squad from spawning.
• The siege turtles strip one enchantment off every time they fire at their targets. This makes monk bonding the NPCs in front of the gates difficult, but not impossible with a bonder build with cover enchants.
• Do not play builds which are solely focused on running amber or taking out NPCs at mines or Command Posts. Playing defensive is the easiest to way to victory.

[edit] Skill recommendations

• In Fort Aspenwood, resurrection occurs approximately every 6 seconds. It is advised not to bring a resurrection skills because of this.
• The large number of corpses that you will encounter makes minion masters particularly effective. Consider bringing corpse denial skills such as Well of Blood.
• Both the Luxons (getting from their resurrection point to the fort) and the Kurzicks (running amber to the gatekeepers) are required to run significant distances. Bringing speed-boosts such as Sprint or Flame Djinn's Haste is beneficial.

[edit] Luxon

• Bring an enchantment removal skill. The Kurzick Elementalist NPCs use enchantments such as Sliver Armor, and if a bonder is present on the Kurzick side, it can be nearly impossible to kill crucial NPCs such as the Kurzick Juggernaut. The most effective enchantment removal skills include Well of the Profane, Air of Disenchantment, Rend Enchantments, Shatter Storm, Shattering Assault, Assault Enchantments, Expunge Enchantments and Gaze of Contempt. Well of the Profane, while costing more, is one of the best ways of dealing with bonders/protection Monks especially if there is more than one as it prevents them from casting enchantments on the target for a short period of time. The best use of Well of the Profane is to have an ally die around Gunther so you can have their corpse. Make sure your allies know you need it; if not, a Minion Master may take the corpse. Expunge Enchantments also works well for removing Spell Breaker.
• Bring skills that reduce healing. Used in conjunction with enchantment removals, Gunther will fall quick to ensure your victory. Effective healing reduction skills are Lingering Curse, Defile Flesh, Malign Intervention, Mark of Death and the condition Deep Wound.
• Since this is an offensive map for Luxons, smiter monks with Ray of Judgement to clear NPCs, Scourge Healing or Scourge Enchantment to pressure opposing monks, and Smite Hex and Smite Condition to keep the turtle clean can be very useful, provided they have some way to keep the turtles alive such as Patient Spirit and Dwayna's Kiss.
• Area of effect spells can be useful for taking out the gate NPCs as they usually won't move out of the area. A Fire magic Elementalist can easily kill NPCs by exploiting this.
• Bringing a Monk or Ritualist with healing skills can keep a turtle alive for a long time. Protection monks are less effective as the turtle already has excellent defense due to Turtle Shell - the main threats to it are various forms of degen and life stealing skills. Standing next to the turtle itself will protect you from melee attackers, who will be teleported away by the turtle's Carrier Defense skill.
• Setting traps on the teleporter pads can help slow down Kurzick amber runners.
• Speed reduction skills will prevent the amber runners from escaping.
• A build made specifically for tanking can be effective if you manage to get past the green gate, as you can prevent the enemy team from repairing the gates by staying engaged with the gatekeepers.
• Spiritual Pain is very effective at retaking amber mines due to the large amount of spirits the Kurzick Mine Cleansers summon. Consider combining with Glyph of Lesser Energy to spam.

[edit] Kurzick

• Siege Turtles have a skill which decreases the damage they take dramatically. It is therefore necessary to use degen skills and conditions or life stealing to kill them.
• The Siege Turtle Attack is a skill (not a spell, attack nor signet) - consider this when deciding which interrupts to bring. Even if you do not have the correct attributes for the skill's additional effect (e.g. Expertise for Distracting Shot) it may be worthwhile bringing the interrupt anyway
• It is possible to take out the raw amber mines on the ledge accessible from the stairs between the outer and inner gates if you use a Longbow/Flatbow as its long range ensures the NPCs aren't able to fire back at you. Also you can attack the Turtle from either side at these points when it approaches the gates.
• Builds that can keep a player alive for long periods of time, such as a Defy Pain warrior, forces Luxons to waste precious time killing you while you run around outside the fort harassing the mines and commanders.

[edit] Player abuse

• Because teams are formed by random individuals of eight, it is possible that you will enter a match with a leecher. Because they do not contribute to the game's efforts, they can put you at a disadvantage for winning. Leeching players can be reported using the /report "Player Name", and receive two Dishonor Points for each person that reports them. When a player receives 10 dishonor points, they become unable to enter PvP arenas for 1 min for each point they accumulated within the last hour. Reporting players without enough other people will get you dishonor so be careful!
• Some players will enter and sabotage their own side to help out the opposition. This can be done in many ways including; opening gates allowing players through or healing enemy players and NPCs.
• This map has been updated (Game_updates/20081113) reducing the amount of time required before a Kurzick victory. Henceforth there has existed an increase in the probability of leechers on the Luxon team in comparison to earlier when it was easier for the Luxon team to achieve victory than it now is. There are also more leechers because the rewards got bigger and it is easier to hide on behind the Luxon base without moving, but majority of players are aware of this possibility.

[edit] NPCs

1. These NPCs do not respawn.

[edit] Notes

• Contrary to common belief, there are no hard caps on the amount of matches; simply the unbalanced amount of either faction will delay the other side from entering battle. This has been confirmed by Gaile Gray here.
• Sometimes a gatekeeper will follow Kurzick players outside the green room when an injured Kurzick opens the gate and runs away. If the gate closes the Gatekeeper often becomes trapped outside the green room becoming vulnerable to attack. Similarly, Luxon Priests trying to support injured Luxons can on rare occasions move away from their command points to within spell range of the outer purple and orange gates.
• To stop the Luxon's turtle at their bridge, as a Kurzick stand nearby of the branching teleporters that directs you to the mines.

Bug.

When a gate is repaired while a Siege Turtle is on top of it, sometimes the turtle will become stuck at that location, not moving further into the base and preventing a new squad from respawning.

Bug.

Sometimes the Luxon Warriors that are advancing with a Siege Turtle will not move into the Green gate when it is breached.

Bug.

Sometimes Luxon Warriors get stuck outside gates and will not move. Leaving them alone will prevent Siege Turtle from respawning.

Bug.

Sometimes Luxon Warriors can get stuck on a corner while in aggro range of a player. They will die, allowing the turtle squad to respawn if the turtle is dead as well.

Bug.

Sometimes when a command post has been taken by the Kurzicks and re-taken by the Luxons, a team of 8 Luxon Warriors will spawn rather than the usual 4.

Bug.

Luxons do not win immediately after Master Architect Gunther is killed, there is a slight time delay (usually about 5 seconds), but Kurzicks win immediately when the progress bar reaches 100%. Because of this, if the timer is close to completion and Gunther is killed, the Kurzicks will occasionally win anyway.

[edit] Trivia

• When Factions was first released there used to be extra cinematics when playing the mission. One before the match begins and one when the match ends. There were different cinematics for both the Kurzick and Luxon sides.
• The Luxon opening cinematic can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v_BmKn30aE
• The Kurzick opening cinematic can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csWHI7Q-x7c