Polymock
Polymock is a minigame in Guild Wars Eye of the North to earn reputation with the Asura. You play against the AI with three "pieces" that you select, each with a unique skill bar; the aim is to defeat your opponent by countering the "pieces" that it picks.
There are 27 different Polymock pieces (see list below), of which 18 are obtainable for players. Each time you pick one piece, you take the form of the corresponding creature. Polymock pieces resemble chess pieces when viewed in your inventory and appear to have a unique shape that is dependent upon the creature the piece is based upon. Each piece has its own set of skills, as shown by the table below. Polymock pieces must be registered before they can be used. See Denn in Rata Sum to register a piece.
Game mechanics[edit]
Before you can participate in Polymock matches, you must first obtain three starter pieces from Hoff in Rata Sum and then register them with Denn. Each registration removes the Polymock piece from your inventory and is permanently tied to your character (as opposed to your account). Do not register the piece if you plan on trading it to another character.
Rules[edit]
Once you have the three starter pieces, you can do the quest chain which starts from Polymock: Defeat Yulma. The objective of a Polymock match is to kill all three of your opponent's pieces before they kill yours.
After defeating the designated opponent (i.e. completed the quest and accepted the reward), you can return to those you have defeated and challenge them to a match under tournament rules. The one difference is that you are required to choose your Polymock pieces from all three rarities (white, purple, gold). If you did not register at least one Polymock piece for each rarity, you cannot challenge opponents using tournament rules. Winning such Polymock matches will earn you from 40 to 90 Asuran reputation points, depending on who you challenged.
Polymock takes place in several special explorable areas, depending on which region the opponent is found in:
- Polymock Coliseum in the Tarnished Coast.
- Polymock Glacier in the Far Shiverpeaks.
- Polymock Crossing in the Charr Homelands.
Tournament Rules[edit]
After completing all polymock quests, you must play by tournament rules. The game is played with 3 pieces of different rarities polymock. To play, you must have 1 common piece, 1 uncommon piece and 1 rare piece.
You win 90 Asuran reputation points for defeating Fonk, Volumandus, Teardrinker, Silverfist or Hoff, 80 points for defeating Blarp, 60 points for Plurgg and 40 points for Yulma.
For maxing the Asuran title
1 Win 90 points. 1 match lasts 5 minutes.
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5 Tier 6 Tier 7 Tier 8 Matches Won 12 45 89 178 289 445 623 889 Time (minutes) 60 225 445 890 1445 2225 3115 4445 Time (hours) 1 3.75 7.42 14.84 24.1 37.1 51.92 74.1
It will take approximately 74 hours to reach tier 8 of the Asuran title if Asuran reputation points are gained exclusively using Polymock matches. No points are awarded past tier 8 therefore it is impossible to max the Asuran title by Polymock exclusively.
Preparation[edit]
Talk to Wokk to choose the three Polymock pieces that you want to use. After selecting your three pieces, you are then asked to select which of the three to start with. You are allowed to examine your skill bar before each round begins. Note that the platforms your piece and your opponent's piece are standing on are close to each other and that it is impossible to move out of range (although strafing to dodge projectiles is possible). Your character is replaced by the Polymock piece that you have chosen. Any enchantments or summons you have are removed. Your weapon and armor bonuses do not apply to Polymock skills.
When you use a white (common) Polymock piece, your maximum health is 3000 and your energy is 30. Purple (uncommon) pieces give a maximum health of 4000 and a maximum energy of 35. Gold (rare) pieces give you 5000 maximum health and 40 energy.
Skill use and effects during the match are similar to normal PvE, the only difference being conditions like Burning, Bleeding, and Disease always cause full -10 health degeneration.
Fight[edit]
When you are done reviewing your skills, you can tell Wokk to start the match. A 10-second countdown timer will begin, counting down to the start of the duel, at which point the opponent's Polymock piece turns hostile.
A round ends when one or both Polymock pieces loses all health. The loser is required to select another Polymock piece from the remaining two to start the next round. The winner retains its current level of health and energy, and all skills continue their recharge duration (i.e. the skills are not automatically recharged). Once the loser selects the next piece and starts the next round, the 10-second countdown will start again. If your opponent (i.e. the NPC) lost the previous round, the countdown timer starts almost immediately, since the winner is not prompted to start the next round.
This continues until one side's three Polymock pieces have all been defeated. Win or lose, you will be returned to the previous location.
Polymock Pieces and Unique Polymock Skills[edit]
The first skill is always a light, spammable damage skill. The second and third skills are more powerful, and each of them is unique among the obtainable pieces, although some obtainable pieces share one of them with one of the nine unobtainable NPC-only pieces.
General Polymock Skills[edit]
All Polymock pieces share the last 5 skills on their bars.
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Guidelines and Fight Strategy[edit]
A good opening piece when you still need to use common pieces is the Skale because it does 150 damage with its spammable attack to enemies > 50% health and has two damage skills, both of which do a great deal of damage but take time to activate and thus benefit from facing a healthy opponent.
When the opponent begins a round with a new piece, they will always start off with Polymock Glyph of Concentration, followed by either their most damaging spell or sometimes the light damage spell. This can be taken advantage of by using your 2-second spells right from the start. Even if your opponent attempts Polymock Power Drain after the glyph, you will almost always get your spell off. Using the 2-second spell here risks taking their high damage spell without being able to get Polymock Block off in time, so using your 1-second spell then Blocking instead may be preferred. Be careful to wait at least 30 seconds for your opponent's skills to recharge before beginning with your new piece so they will have the Polymock Glyph of Concentration available, otherwise they'll start the round in an unpredictable manner.
Always watch your health and energy levels. When you're below 50% health, do not neglect the bonus damage offered by Polymock Glyph of Power. But do not activate it blindly, as the enemy will Polymock Power Drain your attempts to use the Glyph. Be aware of whether you have enough energy to pull it off, because the Glyph works very well with your spammable skill.
Do not forget to use Polymock Ether Signet the moment you reach zero energy. Trying to cast spells without energy wastes valuable time. If you or your opponent is weak, don't hesitate to waste a Polymock Power Drain or Polymock Block to use up your energy so that you can use the Ether Signet and hit them with a higher damage ability.
Try to use Polymock Power Drain and Polymock Block wisely. Try to save them for highly damaging spells and time their recharge. Polymock Glyph of Power is a good interrupt target as well. Be aware of what type of spells can be blocked and what type can be interrupted but not blocked.
Polymock Block can be used as an alternative to Polymock Glyph of Concentration if you use a 1 second spell right after it. Frequently the enemy won't react right away after having a spell blocked, giving plenty of time for your spell to complete. They will often be able to interrupt a 2 second spell after being blocked though, but if you can use the block while they're not casting then it will work for longer spells as well. If you have neither available, you can also slip a 1 second spell in right as the enemy is activating one of their spammable attacks to get it through uninterrupted.
Opponents[edit]
The following opponents are listed in the order the quest chain introduces them:
- Yulma (1) - uses the three starter pieces - see Polymock: Defeat Yulma
- Plurgg (2) - uses Fire Imp, Ice Imp, and Kappa - see Polymock: Defeat Plurgg
- Blarp (3) - uses Earth Elemental, Ice Elemental, and Fire Elemental - see Polymock: Defeat Blarp
- Fonk (4) - uses Kappa, Aloe, and Wind Rider - see Polymock: Defeat Fonk
- Dune Teardrinker (5a) - uses Charr Shaman, Charr Flamecaller, Titan - see Polymock: Defeat Dune Teardrinker
- Grulhammer Silverfist (5b) - uses Dredge, Dolyak, Dwarf - see Polymock: Defeat Grulhammer Silverfist
- Necromancer Volumandus (5c) - uses Skeleton, Wraith, Dragon - see Polymock: Defeat Necromancer Volumandus
- Hoff (8) - uses random pieces - see Polymock: Defeat Master Hoff
General starting attack chain[edit]
- Begin the fight with your highest damage 1 second cast spell. This will hit your enemy while they are using their Polymock Glyph of Concentration. Optionally, if you cast your other high-priority spell right in the beginning, your opponent will not be able to interrupt it.
- Use Polymock Block to interrupt your enemy's high powered spell.
- Use Polymock Glyph of Concentration followed by your other high-priority spell.
- Be ready to interrupt their 2 second cast or other high damage spell which is almost always used soon after.
Advanced starting attack chain[edit]
- Use Polymock Block instantly and start casting your 2-second spell. Usually, when the enemy finishes Concentration and tries to interrupt you, the Block will still be in effect.
- Use Polymock Power Drain to interrupt their high-powered spell which they generally try to cast now, but whose Concentration effect was wasted on trying to interrupt you.
- Use Polymock Glyph of Concentration followed by your highest damage spell.
Universal followup strategy[edit]
- After opening with one of the above two starting attack chains, spam your primary low-damage spell continuously. It breaks the opponent's Block rapidly, and it delivers continual damage while you wait for skills to recycle, targets to interrupt, or while you think of tactics or are moving your mouse with the other hand. It is a very important default action requiring no thought.
- While spamming and attacking with other spells, use the fast Polymock Block and Polymock Power Drain between them.
- Cast Polymock Block whenever it is ready for use. Because of its fast cycle time (12s), don't delay using it, except when a high-damage spell will be ready for casting soon and Polymock Glyph of Concentration is not yet available.
- Cast Polymock Power Drain tactically, don't waste it. Hover your mouse over the skill while you wait for something good to interrupt, meanwhile spamming away with your primary low-damage spell and casting Polymock Block periodically.
- Always use Polymock Glyph of Concentration before casting your high-damage spell to reduce the chance of it being wasted.
- When your energy is at 5 or below, focus almost exclusively on getting it to zero fast so that Polymock Ether Signet can be used. If you're down to energy 6 but your 6-energy high-damage spell is not yet available, forget it, focus on losing all your energy. Your main spam skill (cost 1e), Polymock Glyph of Power (1e) and Polymock Block (2e) are best for shedding your energy. Polymock Power Drain (3e) could be used, but it is such an important skill that it is best left for its primary role of interrupting tactically.
- Throughout all of the above, always use Polymock Glyph of Power if you are under 50% health. By adding 200 damage, it makes your primary low-damage spell a real powerhouse, and should be used at every opportunity.
- Using the above strategy, all the main quest opponents can be defeated very easily and almost automatically.
Notes[edit]
- You can map travel out to abandon a match. This makes it faster to restart a match if it goes badly or if you've made a mistake selecting your pieces. Using /resign will let you teleport to the outpost without having to locate it on the world map.
- Survivors beware that losing all three battles will on rare occasion count as a death.
- When you are outside of your Polymock piece, you will be subject to all active Polymock effects. For example, if the match has ended and a projectile is already mid flight, it will still deal damage to you once it hits. Another example is an area damage over time skill such as Polymock Savannah Heat. Because of the high amounts of Polymock skill damage (most Polymock skills deal over 500 damage), you will die but you will be resurrected instantly without any animation. You might not notice your death mid-match, even if you actually defeat your opponent in the Polymock battle.
- After defeating an opponent Polymock piece, there's a short time window that allows you to activate another skill with an activation time of 1 second or less, such as Polymock Glyph of Power.
- To make future runs easier, avoid registering the Ice Elemental, Aloe Seed, and Mirage Iboga pieces as you get them, and just complete the quest sequence with the Earth Elemental, Fire Elemental, and Kappa. Then pass the three unregistered pieces off to new characters that need to go through, and return them after completion. Note that this will prevent you from participating in Tournament Mode until you register a Rare piece.
Trivia[edit]
- It has been stated in an interview that it feels like "Pokémon on steroids". [citation needed]
See also[edit]
- List of Polymock skills
- Games Radar Interview [1]
- IGN - Official Demo Overview: [2]
- Onlinewelten.com - Eye of the North presentation video: part 1 part 2
| Minigames |
|---|
| Halloween: Costume Brawl Wintersday: Dwayna Vs Grenth • Snowball Dominance • Fighting in a Winter Wonderland • The Great Snowball Fight of the Gods Shing Jea Boardwalk: Dragon Arena • Nine Rings • Rings of Fortune • Dragon Nest • Rollerbeetle Racing Canthan New Year: Rock-Paper-Scissors Pre-Searing: The bear hunters • The Prize Winning Hogs Eye of the North: Dwarven brawling • Kilroy Stonekin • Polymock • The Leadfoot Race • The Norn Fighting Tournament Beyond: Courier Falken |
| Disguises |
|---|
| Obtained through tonics |
| Disguised • Avatar of Holiday Cheer • Avatar of Sweetness • Beetle Metamorphosis • Sinister Golem Form • Yeti Form |
| Obtained through polymock pieces |
| Aloe Seed Form • Bone Dragon Form • Charr Flamecaller Form • Charr Shaman Form • Dolyak Rider Form • Dredge Form • Dwarven Arcanist Form • Earth Elemental Form • Fire Elemental Form • Fire Imp Form • Gaki Form • Gargoyle Form • Ice Elemental Form • Ice Imp Form • Kappa Form • Mantis Dreamweaver Form • Mergoyle Form • Mirage Iboga Form • Mursaat Elementalist Form • Naga Shaman Form • Ruby Djinn Form • Skale Form • Skeletal Mage Form • Smoke Wraith Form • Stone Rain Form • Titan Form • Wind Rider Form |
| Obtained during missions |
| Corsair • Dastardly • Gwen • Jade Brotherhood • Keiran Thackeray • Kournan Guardsman • Saul D'Alessio • Togo • Turai Ossa |
| Obtained in explorable areas |
| Desert Wurm • Spirit Form |
| Obtained during holiday events |
| G.O.L.E.M. • Going Commando • Rollerbeetle Racer • Snowman Form Canthan New Year disguises: Pig Form • Rat Form • Ox Form • Tiger Form • Rabbit Form • Dragon Form • Snake Form • Horse Form • Sheep Form • Monkey Form • Rooster Form • Dog Form Halloween disguises: Agent of the Mad King • Candy Corn Infantry • Combat Costume • Mad King's Influence |
| Cannot be obtained by characters |
| Lose your Head • Rolling Start • Rudi's Red Nose • Stone Dwarf Transformation • Test Buff |
