Sunspear rank

Sunspear rank
Campaign	Nightfall
Title type	Character

Sunspear rank is gained per character by earning Sunspear promotion points. This title can be displayed in the "Honor" monument.

Sunspear rank title track

Tier	Title	Promotion points
1	Sunspear Sergeant (1)	50
2	Sunspear Master Sergeant (2)	100
3	Second Spear (3)	175
4	First Spear (4)	300
5	Sunspear Captain (5)	500
6	Sunspear Commander (6)	1,000
7	Sunspear General (7)	2,500
8	Sunspear Castellan (8)	7,500
9	Spearmarshal (9)	15,000
10	Legendary Spearmarshal (10)	50,000

Benefits

• One hero skill point is awarded for attaining each of the first two ranks and two points for each of the other ranks, for a total of 18 points per character.
• You can learn PvE-only Sunspear skills after obtaining your secondary profession with an Elonian character or after reaching rank 1 (Sunspear Sergeant) with a non-Elonian character.
  • Runduk can teach you Sunspear Rebirth Signet. Elonian characters can obtain this signet after reaching rank 1 as this trainer does not require you to have a secondary profession.
  • The Nightfall hero skill trainers can teach you one skill for each profession:
    • Whirlwind Attack
    • Never Rampage Alone
    • Seed of Life
    • Necrosis
    • Cry of Pain
    • Intensity
    • Critical Agility
    • Vampirism
    • "There's Nothing to Fear!"
    • Eternal Aura

Sunspear skill

Sunspear skills are PvE-only skills available to characters on accounts with the Nightfall campaign. They each cost one hero skill point and are available from the hero skill trainers at Kamadan, the Sunspear Great Hall, and the Command Post after reaching the first rank of the Sunspear title track.

The skills are dependent upon one's Sunspear rank, rather than an attribute. Because PvE-only skills cannot be unlocked, heroes may not use Sunspear skills. Since the May 17th, 2012 update, only Sunspear Rebirth Signet and Vampirism (due to a bug) continue to scale above Sunspear rank 5 (Sunspear Captain). All other skills reach maximum effectiveness at rank 5.

While Sunspear skills are not linked to any attribute, three of them are affected by primary attribute ranks, making them less useful for other professions. The Monk skill Seed of Life requires Divine Favor to increase its healing capability, the Assassin skill Critical Agility needs Critical Strikes to increase its duration, and the Paragon skill "There's Nothing to Fear!" uses Leadership to extend its duration.

See also: List of PvE-only skills#Sunspear skills

Icon	Name	Description						Prof.	Attribute	Campaign
	"There's Nothing to Fear!"	Shout. (4 seconds plus 1 second for every 2 ranks in Leadership.) Reduces damage by 20...35% for party members in earshot. End effect: heals for 35...60 Health.	0	1515	0	02020		paragona	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Critical Agility	Enchantment Spell. (4 seconds plus 1 second for each rank of Critical Strikes.) You attack 33% faster and gain +15...25 armor. Renewal: every time you land a critical hit.	0	055	01.001	03030		assassina	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Cry of Pain	Spell. Interrupts a skill. If target foe had a Mesmer hex, deals 25...50 damage to target and foes in the area and causes 3...5 Health degeneration (10 seconds).	0	1010	00.250.25¼	01515		mesmera	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Eternal Aura	Enchantment Spell. You have +100 max Health. End effect: all party members in the area are resurrected with 40...50% Health and 20...30% Energy.	0	1515	044	03030		dervisha	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Intensity	Skill. (10 seconds.) The next time you deal elemental damage with a spell, other targets in the area take 60...70% of that damage.	0	055	0	01010		elementalista	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Necrosis	Skill. Deals 60...90 damage if target foe has a condition or hex.	0	055	01.001	0022		necromancera	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Never Rampage Alone	Skill. (18...25 seconds.) You and your pet attack 25% faster and have +1...3 Health regeneration.	0	1515	0	02020		rangera	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Seed of Life	Enchantment Spell. (2...5) seconds. Heals party members for 2 for each rank in Divine Favor whenever target takes damage. Cannot self target.	0	055	00.250.25¼	02020		monka	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Sunspear Rebirth Signet	Signet. Resurrect target dead ally [sic] at your location (full Health and 10% Energy for each Sunspear Rank attained). This signet only recharges when you gain a morale boost.	0	0	03.003	morale boostmorale boost		a	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Vampirism	Binding Ritual. Creates a level 4...14 spirit (lifespan 75...150 seconds). Its attacks steal 10...20 Health, and you are healed for 10...20.	0	1010	00.750.75¾	03030		ritualista	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall
	Whirlwind Attack	Melee Attack. Deals +13...20 damage to target and adjacent foes.	6	0	0	0011		warriora	Sunspear rankZ	Nightfall

Acquisition

Sunspear points can be earned by:

• Completing quests that award Sunspear points.
• By killing specific creature types while under the effects of a bounty (the amount depends on the region and whether it's normal or hard mode).
• Turning in normal or hard mode copies of the Night Falls storybook to Captain Ahkenchu, with at least 9 pages filled.
• Turning in copies of the Young Heroes of Tyria storybook to Captain Ahkenchu, with at least 7 pages filled.
• Missions from Chahbek Village to Dasha Vestibule award Sunspear promotion points for each level of completion in both normal and hard modes.
  • Getting the master's reward in all those missions in normal mode grants 585 Sunspear points.
  • Getting the master's reward in all those missions in hard mode grants 2,340 Sunspear points.
• Defeating Corsair Guild Lords in the Dajkah Inlet Challenge Mission awards 50 Sunspear points each.
• Successfully vanquishing explorable areas in Istan or Kourna.

Farming Sunspear points

Besides Vanquishing to exploit the synergy between both titles, there exists locations one can farm Sunspear points:

Istan

• For players early in the Nightfall campaign, harpies can be farmed in the Cliffs of Dohjok using the quests Skree Hatchling Season and Diamond in the Rough.

Plains of Jarin

Plains of Jarin

This farm should allow players to earn 90 to 140 reputation in 5 minutes and is possible at low combat levels, provided support is taken, either in the form of henchmen or self survival skills. Get both a Plant Hunt (beginning of run) and an Insect Hunt (during the run). Each run will usually earn 3 Sentient Roots which can be used to obtain a Salvage or Identification Kit from Adhitok and a Belt Pouch via Juvenile Termite Legs traded to Nenah. AoE can decrease the time of a run to 3 minutes.

Cliffs of Dohjok

In Champion's Dawn, obtain the quests Skree Hatchling Season and Diamond in the Rough. These two quests will spawn approximately 50 harpies in the Cliffs of Dohjok. Obtaining the quest Queen of the Quarry will spawn 3 Sunspear allies outside of Champion's Dawn that will boost your party size. The harpies are located to the west and south-west of Champion's Dawn. Before killing any harpies, you must obtain the Skree Battle bounty from the Sunspear Scout north of the mining quarry. After killing the harpies, map back to Champion's Dawn, abandon the above quests, and repeat the process to gain more Sunspear promotion points.

Kourna

• Arkjok Ward can be a good place to get Sunspear points early on in Kourna.

Arkjok Ward

Arkjok Ward insect farm:
1,600–3,100 points/hour.

(1 run: 96 points, 3 minutes) From Yohlon Haven, exit east into Arkjok Ward and take the Insect Hunt bounty. There are five nearby groups of insects: two groups of 4 to the north and three groups of four to the south. You can get 1,600 points/hour with nearly any combination of heroes and henchmen. At peak efficiency, you can increase that to over 3,100 points per hour.

Vabbi

• Holdings of Chokhin is a very efficient run in hard mode because of two plant bosses.

Holdings of Chokhin

Holdings of Chokhin

From Mihanu Township, exit north into the Holdings of Chokhin and pick up the Plant Hunt bounty. Follow the canyon north until you reach a large open area with a large number of plants running around. Proceed counter-clockwise. Head through the canyon to the west and go in another counter-clockwise circle. Make sure you get Banor Greenbranch, just northwest of the resurrection shrine.

• In hard mode, expect approximately 976 points in 10 minutes, which is approximately 5850 points/hour.
• This run's efficiency benefits from the presence of two plant bosses.

Risks and recommendations

• Foes cannot strip enchantments. However, consider avoiding their use when tackling Banor Greenbranch, since that monk boss uses Pensive Guardian.
• Bring hex removal to counter Soothing Images and Crippling Anguish.
• All the groups will layer numerous conditions, including bleeding, blind, cracked armor, and crippled.
• Setikor Fireflower is in the southeast corner of the first open area. That boss' Lightning Surge can hit an unprotected target for 400+ damage.

Yatendi Canyons

Yatendi Canyons farm from Chantry of Secrets

This is a fairly simple run that gives you about 150 points for each run. Head out from Chantry of secrets and get the bounty. Follow the path southwest across the first bridge, then cut across the field to the second. The run usually takes about 4 minutes. This translates into 2,250 points per hour.

The Desolation

• The Sulfurous Wastes has 2 runs that are very easy in hard mode because you are in the Junundu.

The Sulfurous Wastes

There are two runs for Sunspear points in this area, both of which are easily done in hard mode, even with only heroes/henchmen, because the party will be traveling inside Junundu wurms. Movement speed skills can be used to get to the wurms slightly faster.

From Gate of Desolation

The path in The Sulfurous Wastes outside Gate of Desolation

Exit to the north and take the Undead Hunt bounty (point 1 on map). Go northeast to the Wurm Spoor, avoiding the small Djinn patrol (2). Continue to the north into the sulfur and you will find a group of Awakened (3). Past them to the northwest is another group, along with a few elemental pairs (4). Next, go west past the wurm spoor for another group (5), which should put you over the bonus limit of 25 undead creatures killed. Turn back and head south onto the plateau to take on Vahlen the Silent and his group (6). There is a final group of Awakened at (7), but the time required to reach and kill them will decrease the efficiency of this run. This run will get you around 576 points and takes about 7 minutes, which is approximately 4,937 points/hour (with group 7).

From Remains of Sahlahja

The path in The Sulfurous Wastes outside Remains of Sahlahja

This combines extremely well with Lightbringer points farming in the same area. Head east and get the Undead Hunt bounty (1), then head south to the Wurm Spoor (2). There are two groups of Awakened immediately to the south and west (3 & 4). If a Desert Wurm appears, near the first group, simply ignore it. Head west then south through a canyon, ignoring the Margonites on the cliffs, to find a third group of Awakened (5), with a fourth group just to the east. Continue south almost to the Monolith Temple (again ignoring the Sand Wurm if one appears), where you will encounter the last group (9) which includes the ritualist boss Alem the Unclean. This run this will net you over 216 points and takes about 7 minutes, which is approximately 1,851 points/hour.

Vanquishing

When going for the Elonian Vanquisher title, the vanquishing bonus and the Bounties encountered along the way will likely yield enough promotion points to max the Sunspear rank. Rewards and killing speed differ a lot depending on the area and route chosen. On average, it can yield around 2,000-3,000 Sunspear promotion points per hour. Vanquishing is neither the easiest nor the fastest way to farm promotion points, but it offers several benefits:

• You'll make progress towards three titles at the same time: Vanquisher, Sunspear rank and Lightbringer rank. If you plan to get the Vanquisher title, the other two are almost free.
• With a bit of extra work, you can progress the Elonian Cartographer title at the same time.
• Vanquishing is not as repetitive as the other farming methods, you'll only need to vanquish each area once.

Notes

• Upon attaining the rank of Sunspear Commander (rank 6), your character can no longer obtain Sunspear bounties in Istan without entering hard mode.
• Upon attaining the rank of Sunspear Castellan (rank 8), your character can no longer obtain Sunspear bounties offered in normal mode or turn in the normal mode Night Falls storybook. You must play in hard mode to get bounties to earn the last two ranks or turn in the Night Falls [Hard Mode] storybook; however, you are able to obtain Sunspear points in normal mode as a reward for some quests. Consider waiting until your character is rank 8...
  • and for an Elonian Support weekly bonus before turning in secondary quests that award Sunspear promotion points.
  • before vanquishing explorable areas in Istan or Kourna.
• The last time you need to earn a Sunspear rank is in the quest "And a Hero Shall Lead Them," where you need to attain the rank Sunspear General (2,500 Promotion Points), this requirement is only for Elonian characters; Tyrian and Canthan characters do not need to acquire this rank to progress the Nightfall campaign. Fortunately, this is easily accomplished, as many areas can yield 1,000 points or more even in normal mode.
• For all Sunspear title skills (except Sunspear Rebirth Signet and Vampirism's attack skill, which scale linearly with Sunspear rank) Sunspear rank translates to effective attribute rank as follows:

Progression
Sunspear rank	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Effective attribute rank	0	3	6	9	12	15	15	15	15	15	15

Trivia

• The earlier missions (up to Dasha Vestibule) did not award Sunspear points until the 13 November 2008 update.

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