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

[edit] General mechanics

Fort Aspenwood 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. Also inside the green gate are two gate guards, who hold the role of repairing the gates should they be breached. Just bring them a chunk of amber, and they will repair the gates with priority going to the green gate, with the two outer gates repaired last. Master Architect Gunter will not repair any gates at any time during gameplay, instead he increases the progress of God's 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 are also guarded. The assault posts are reputed because they each have siege turtles, capable of catapulting a large amount of AoE damage to take down gates quickly.

Overall, 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 God's Vengeance weapon by a percentage. If a Kurzick dies while carrying an amber chunk, it will disappear after a short time, if not picked up by a Luxon, (which would also cause it to disappear.) 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 will not benefit the creation of a new gate, it will be repaired with the same quality as raw amber.

The Kurzick side will win once God's Vengeance has reached it's peak at 100% whereas the Luxon side wins as soon as Master Architect Gunther is killed. The bar for God's Vengeance also progresses on its own at a rate of roughly 1% per 8 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 Master Architect.

• Order the Luxon gate commanders to dispatch troops to defeat the Kuzicks and their gate guards.
• Help thwart the completion of the Kurzicks' weapon, God's Vengeance, by preventing them from gathering amber.
• Take out Master Architect Gunther before God's Vengeance is complete.
• Keep the Amber mines and protect them to stop the Kurzicks from speeding up the completion of God's 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 God's Vengeance is complete.

• Make sure that Master Architiect Gunther survives.
• Deliver Amber to each of the gatekeepers to repair destroyed gates or to Gunther to speed up God's 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 God's Vengeance).
• Prioritise 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 two times the final completion percentage of the Vengeance of the Gods.
• Luxon players will receive 40 faction points for each unique gate destroyed during the mission.
• Players on the winning team will be awarded a further bonus of 600 faction points.
• If luxon players kill only the Master Architect they will be awarded 400 faction but if they kill the gatekeepers and destroy all of the gates they will be awarded 800 faction.

[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 are more effective 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 NPC.

• If a turtle has been sent in, it is best to attack with it to ensure that the turtle progresses forward quickly. The turtle will attack any foes within it's aggro range, and will not move until that foe leaves its range, or is killed. If it is left alone, it is more likely to be killed, leaving your team at a disadvantage.
• 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 and not rely on the turtle to do this.
• 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.
• 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.
• Counter bonders by attacking them directly to force them away from their charge, or bring counter-enchantment skills such as Well of Profane.
• 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 move on without the turtle, as they should do normally.

[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 repairing, 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 NPC or 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.
• A single monk can hold of the entire Luxon team by making the NPC Elementalists on the last gate invincible. This can be done by using Protective Spirit to reduce the damage, Heal Other and Jamei's Gaze to heal when his health gets low, and Healing Breeze to heal constantly. Healer's Boon can help you greatly with this as can Words of Comfort, Spirit Bond and Vigorous Spirit.

[edit] Skill recommendations

• In Fort Aspenwood, resurrection occurs approximately every 6 seconds. It is advised not to bring a resurrection skill because of this.
• The large number of corpses that you will encounter makes minion masters particularly effective.
• Both the Luxons (getting from their resurrection point to the fort) and the Kurzicks (running amber to the gatekeepers) require them 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. Common enchantment removal skills include Well of the Profane, Expunge Enchantments and Gaze of Contempt. Well of 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. Expunge Enchantments also works well for removing Spell Breaker.
• 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 Elementalist with burning can solo every npc easily with 2-3 spells.
• 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's Defense skill.
• Setting traps on the teleporter pads can help slow down the Kurzick's amber runners.
• Speed reduction skills will prevent the amber runners from escaping.

[edit] Kurzick

• Siege Turtles have a skill which decreases the damage they take dramatically. It is therefore necessary to use degen skills such as Burning Arrow or life stealing to kill them.
• The Siege Turtle Attack is a skill (not a spell or 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.

[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 disavantage 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.
• Players often leave the match prematurely, this can place your team at a disadvantage if it happens.
• Rarely 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.

[edit] NPCs

1. These NPCs do not respawn.

[edit] Notes

• There is a rumour that there is a hard cap on the number of Fort Aspenwood matches which can occur simultaneously. This is false, new matches will start as long as each side has enough players in the queue to form a full team. [1]

Bug.

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.

Bug.

Sometimes 8 Luxon Warriors, instead of the usual 4, will respawn at a command post when a squad is destroyed.

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.

[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 are different cinematics for both the Kurzick and Luxon sides.
• The Luxon opening cinematic can be seen here: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=3v_BmKn30aE
• The Kurzick opening cinematic can be seen here: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=csWHI7Q-x7c