Talk:Frostmaw's Burrows

Outpost

Is this an outpost of sorts? that you can warp to? or must you leave from sifhalla every time to get here?? 68.104.205.160 19:00, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Not an outpost, an, yes, Sifhalla seems closest. Backsword 19:04, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Just a word of warning. This dungeon is considerably more difficult than it was during the preview. Many of the Wurm spawns seem to have been replaced by Wurms 1 level up the 'developmental scale'. Boss Wurms (Frostmaw Spawns) now appear with multiple Frost Wurm companions, as does Frostmaw herself. The resulting cascade of Wurm Bile from such spawns can cause party wipes with amazing efficiency. Interrupting Frostmaw and her Spawn is quite challenging - and vital. It's a good idea to keep an eye out for 'Wurm Sign' (the trail of dust along the ground where a Wurm is burrowing toward you), although occasionally this animation doesn't jive exactly with the location of the Wurm, or in some cases fails to display entirely. Also, the Stormcloud Incubi seem to have gotten more efficient, though I couldn't exactly pin down how they improved. They're soft targets, but when grouped together they can rip through a party with amazing speed. Chest drops were the same.--Semantic 02:11, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Inspired hex = gg wurm bile. since it got nerfed and all. --Lou-Saydus 17:21, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Resurrection

This dungeon illustrates something in place in GW:EN that really makes me happy - dying does not force you to start over. I came into this place with an abysmally under-prepared party, and managed to finish the dungeon with 60% death penalty almost the entire way through. Those who aren't extremely well-prepared and experiance can make it through on persistance. Awesome, if you ask me. Never mind that there were like 12 chests in there. Arcthemonkey 01:20, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

Indeed - although the rewards that my party got on the first run through was a little disappointing [1 or 2 diamonds each and bad golds - I got 2 diamonds, but they were still worth a respectable 5.4K] my guild hopes to do Frostmaw's and many of the other dungeons many times, as most of the officers and some of the members really love these dungeons. So old school, but not too punishing if you fail first time round. We got to Frostmaw with just 12% DP each thanks to the honeycombs from Hogni Truthseeker. Thanks for the dungeons ANet, and thanks for just how beautiful they are. They are true spectacles of the game. Anyone who misses out on these dungeons is missing out on a real treat. This dungeon is technically not that much different from the others that my guild tried, but it still offers up a different experience, and we were all very impressed. Andrik Of Ascalon 18:21, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks to the 4 Allies that help you through. —ZerphaThe Improver 15:17, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

the hidden passage

maybe there is meant the terrain in the middle levels which you were not able to enter with the hidden switch???

huh?

Possible Bug

The secret passage on level 5 opens a direct path to Frostmaw, heading Northwest from the ressurection point. I have had an issue here using a hench/hero group of all casters, when not opening this passage, following being wiped by a siege attack (which can one-hit the entire group if not spread out). The three warriors (Gareth, Hroth and Kitta) head up this path towards the ressurection shrine and stay put, while the Paragon (Latham) will die in the center of the area where Frostmaw spawns (each time he seems to be stuck against a locked chest). They remain this way for the duration of the dungeon, even after taking down Frostmaw and all the Frostmaw spawn. It makes for a very long drawn out battle, and requires a steady assault on Frostmaw, while avoiding the seige wurms entirely, and some very well timed ressurection work, but this situation does not mean failure (your heroes and henchies will most definitely be at -60% for the duration). I have managed to vanquish all the foes, and drag the warrior allies back to Latham (apparently they ressurect him) so I can collect my reward, using my version of a "balanced" group (Protection/Blood Tahlkora, Searing Flames/MoR Souske, Battery/Healing/Life Transfer Olias, Mhenlo, Lina, Zho, and Cynn) My character of choice here is Searing Flames EMo with Ressurect and Heal Party (In case anyone else wants to try testing this...lol). So far it has happened consistently in each of 6 runs, I will try to further test this "bug" by bringing Light of Deldrimor to see if it occurs when the passage is open. Gwynna Vive 13:36, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

This is not occuring when using Light of Deldrimor to open the passage. Latham will still hang in the middle if there is a chest in his way though, and get blasted to smithereens by seige wurms repeatedly. Gwynna Vive 10:54, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Another Possible bug: Running H/H in NM, and one of my heroes (Hayda with Song of Purification for condition removal) got stuck against one of the ice walls near the 2 Seige Worm room. Had to backtrack until she was no longer on the radar and then flag her back to me.

Tips on Getting Through?

Just curious as to how others get through this dungeon. I had the quest for a while and decided to give it a shot tonight. Ended up wasting 2.5 hours and just gave up at Frostmaw. I didn't know what to expect, so I know my hench/hero setup was partially to blame. Unsurprisingly, when I went to an outpost to ask for advice on how others got through I only got "sneery" comments such as "Uh, don't die? Duh." or "Usually you die because you suck." Go figure, they remind me why I had disabled Local chat in the first place...

I don't plan on going near that dungeon again until I know I'll have a decent shot at making it through and having some fun doing so. I'd rather not waste another good chunk of time without any kind of payoff. So, in short, if anyone can give some actual helpful advice and set themselves apart from the garbage that seems to infest MMO games please do so.

My group setup:

 Wa/Mo - Axe Warrior (Cleave, Pen. Blow, Executioner's, Tiger Stance, Shielding Hands, Enraging Charge, Lion's Comfort, Rebirth)
 Tahklora - Protection/Healing Monk
 Olias - MM (bad for this dungeon, too bad I didn't know before I started)
 GW:EN Ritualist Hero (forgot name) - some spirits & weapon skills, not many Ritualist skills unlocked on my account
 Mhenlo
 Devona
 Zho
 Cynn

I was able to kill at 60% DP for pretty much the entire dungeon, but there was a serious lack of fun in doing so...

What group setups do you guys use? Notable skills to bring? Specific/general strategies for getting through this dungeon with minimal grief?

P.S. This is only the second time I've posted anything of decent length on any Wiki, so if I've gone wrong somewhere (maybe even by posting this at all?) I sincerely apologize.

67.9.75.129 02:36, 29 October 2007 (UTC)Lokharte

I H/H the dungeon with the following:

• SS Necro with Barbs & Pain Inverter
• Jora (Hundred Blades + Sun&Moon)
• Koss (Triple Chop) (probably could've gone with a better skillbar on him.)
• Gwen (Interrupter w/ Renew Life + Empathic Renewal)
• Talon (Died lots)
• Mhenlo
• Lina
• Herta

Triggering barbs as many times as possible was my strategy here. Managed to clear it while keeping DP down fairly low, cept for the last floor. But as long as Gwen can interrupt Frostmaw's skills, she's easy. I found Inspired Hex not that useful since it usually caught Suffering and was then useless for 20 seconds. - HeWhoIsPale 16:05, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

I suck at using/editing Wiki, but I thought I'd just add here. Tried this with a guildie, both took 3 heroes. Setup was uh.

• W/E (Evis, Agonizing, Executioners, Critical Chop, FRENZY (oops. I like the shock axe template) Rush, Conjure Lightning & Ebon Battle Standard of Honor)
• Ogden - WoH Hybrid Prot.
• Vekk - Wards & Sandstorm (Ward of Stability wasn't THAT useful imo)
• Gwen - Disruption (Oops, Instability was her elite, perhaps a faster recharging interrupt instead?)

• D/Mo - She was playing some sort of Balthazar Dervish.
• Ogden - a second WoH hybrid.
• Sousuke - SF nuker
• Vekk - SF nuker (both had meteor shower, should swap for rodgarts to nuke instead?)

Was I an utter fool to run this setup, if so, what should I change? I'm looking for a good warrior build for PvE too, I've just modified my PvP build. ;_; I fail at PvE.

Oh, and I didn't make a full run, died on the fourth floor, we ran alot of this on 60%. Fourth floor has 3 siege worms bunched up tight with some other mobs nearby, couldn't clear the mobs OR the worms. :(

Cheers,

IGN: Fail Loves Frenzy. I'm GMT timezone.

---

I got through in 1 hour and 10 minutes with 10% morale boost from level 3 to the end in normal mode using this:

• Nox Coma: OAhjYwhs4MW7op0cyNMHnV1LGA
• Gwen: OQNDAqsjO5gLQGoHgBcJmR0I
• Vekk: OgVDMqyMOZgeAuAZQ3GrNteB
• Whispers: OAhjYwhs4MW7op0cyNMHnV1LGA
• Cynn
• Herta
• Lina
• Mhenlo

Be careful at the door openings cause that's where the Frostmaw Spawn resides with his "minions". Dont charge patroling groups as they are often accomanied by large wurm groups, you just cannot see the wurms as they are underground. With some tactical pulling and scraping walls to kep from large open areas this was made pretty easy considering. I had a wipe at the 1:st level and a wipe at the 2:nd level but after that it was 10% morale boost all the way through. Dont use PI whenever it recharges on just the closest foe, use it wisely. Good luck and Happy Hunting! -- Nox Coma 12:06, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Hey, I'm having trouble running through on the second level. Is all I have to do is kill the wurms? I think I've killed them all but the portal past the incubus never opens. Any help?

Guys just bring a human Leadership Command Paragon and this dungeon is eeeeeeeeeeeeeasy even in HM.

Changed Locked Chest rate?

I only got 8 chests or so, looks like they changed their occurency... :/ maybe i only remember wrong... —ZerphaThe Improver 15:10, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

Reputation

Is it a typo that you only get 2250 reputation for clearing this in hard mode, it seems odd to gain less than in normal mode. -- Broodling 06:51, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

I am just about to do this dungeon. Hopefully with some success. Looking at the unofficial wiki the points are different. They say 4500 on HM for first time and 400 after then. They also state 300 for subsequent completions on normal instead of here they say 200. --SK 19:30, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

Did this dungeon in normal mode this night for the 2nd time got as reward 300 reputation points. I wil chance it on the page. Silencio 22:12, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

EDA

An Ebon Dust Aura dervish with Fleeting Stability and some self heals like mystic vigor, can just about solo the wurms in here. Add in Whirlwind Attack if you want for a nice AOE blind, add in an ele with Ward Against melee and Ward of Stability, add prot monk, heal monk (henchmen will do), some salt, bring to a simmer for 90 minutes or until Frostmaw is lightly thawed, and collect your reward. Kelvin Greyheart 01:05, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

90 minutes is about how long it'll take if you waste elites on stuff like EDA. -Auron 01:06, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm just throwing it out there, are you European? 75.75.180.0 01:33, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

If this were pvp I would agree that EDA was pretty much useless on a melee profession. However EDA is amazingly useful in pve situations with hard hitting melee foes that follow predictable patterns (cough AI cough). You can pretty much aggro everything within a large range, line them up, and send in a hero with SS. Now if your brave enough to PUG stuff an EDA is nice because when (not if) someone in the backline invariably runs forward to pick up some gold or some other garbage, the enemy melee is pretty much useless. In organized pvp you can't rely on people to be quite that stupid. RA is another matter. Kelvin Greyheart 19:32, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Barrels

Just a note, ive never used the barrels on the third lvl to blow the wall up. It always breaks down on its own when i kill the wurms

I just went through Frostmaw and the cracked wall did not get knocked down, requiring a run back to the keg station. Maybe if one interrupts the Wurm Siege so that it doesn't occur, then there won't be a powerful AoE to knock down the wall. Or if you lure the wurms too far away from the wall, I imagine the wall won't get knocked down also. --Rpger 01:41, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

I picked up a keg on my way, blew up the wall before the wurms spawned, saw a snowball roll through it and WHAM! door's closed. <- weird stuff, it's the frist time I ever decided to blow up that door. Lili 19:50, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

So, how do we win this in hard mode?

Doesn't appear hero/henchable. Don't think a 600/smite monk can solo this either as Frostmaw can remove enchantments with Dark Apostasy. Since wiki is meant to be a guide, I decided to come here. Anyone with ideas on how to finish this dungeon in hard mode? 165.21.154.114 09:15, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

I just finished it with H/H in HM. I had curse necro, dom mesmer and MM, two monks, herta and zho. I got DPed at mandragors but other than that it was fine. Anybody knows how many times I have to repeat this to get that bow? is the drop rate different in hm/nm?--98.27.147.126 06:26, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Running

I remember trying this dungeon when I first bought eotn ages ago. It wasn't pretty. I'm about to try again to complete my eotn title, however just came across the following sentence in the wiki and it got me thinking: 'This dungeon does not use any Boss Locks or Dungeon Locks. ' As such, would an SF sin be able to run all the way to the last level, then allowing the rest of the party to complete the 5th level? Or does the dungeon have those portals which only open when a nearby mob is killed? any responce would be most helpfull, thanks. Pray For Peace 17:59, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

1. There are doors and barriers that won't open until the nearby Frostmaw Spawn is killed. 2. The Incubii will strip your SF off. --Valshia 18:05, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks a load for the fast responce - guess a normal H+H party it is :) Pray For Peace 18:06, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Some Hidden Locations mapped

Some hidden locations mapped

I just went through and noticed no one has made a list of the hidden locations for this dungeon. Here are the locations revealed on my last trip, however given that dungeons will not spawn all their hidden locations on any given run (for treasures at least), - consider this a partial guide. You may find some locations that are not listed on my map, in which case please feel free to add them in bulleted comments in this section.

Note: I added a cracked wall symbol at the point where one appears. According to the reports from others here, it may come down on it's own, possibly when one of the Frost Wurms inadvertantly blasts it with it's Wurm Siege while trying to wipe your party. On my last run, however, it did not fall automatically after killing the wurms and other disrespectful creatures at the gate. It was necessary to run back and get a powder keg in order to continue. --Rpger 02:01, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

A couple extra hidden treasure locations:

• On level 4, about halfway down the map the red dot that is left of the other dots of the path on the map.
• On level 5, in the middle of the hallway leading to the secret room.

64.188.213.50 04:46, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Another one near Beacon of Droknar at start of level 2. hidden treasure.--218.186.17.240 01:43, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Rather Easy

This dungeon is rather easy in hm. Me and a friend beat it in about 45mins. I ran a SoS spirit spam build and had a N/RT healer, a AotL MM and a UA monk for fast resses. My friend ran AP with discord heros. We had no trouble at all, no party wipes and when we got to Frostmaw we had a 10% moral boost and didnt even use any consumables. It was very fun. Since we did it so fast we decided to farm the dungeon all day and got some pretty sick drops. :D --65.80.253.80 09:47, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Way to load discord onto heroes, I guess. 76.84.34.210 23:36, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Way to be a stuck up ass I guess? ^^ --70.153.230.245 06:37, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

KOOL STORY BRO69.107.65.29 02:24, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Umad? This dungeon sucks if you don't take Hex removal tbh. Waar Kijk Je Naar 12:52, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Guys just bring a human leadership/command Paragon. I agree loading discord and using sos = no props.

I loled

Man, there is a HUGE difference in the spawns of monsters and other random things in hm and nm. It was actually pretty hilarious. Running in between 3 snowballs only to have all but 2 of my heros/henchies killed. I couldnt stop laughing. Kudos to you Anet, this place one of the funnest things to do in hm and I didnt know whether to love it or hate it. So I just kept laughing. --Sapphy 22:22, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Subsequent completions

I have completed this dungeon numerous times and yet have never received the rep points for subsequent completions. Any reason why this may be happening? --68.214.73.193 22:41, 13 November 2009 (UTC)

If you were doing it in normal mode, you probably hit Norn rank 8. Once you get to r8, you need to play in hard mode to get more rep. -- Hong 04:11, 29 November 2009 (UTC)

Gate Doesn't Open on Level 2

The map of Level 2 shows that you can go through the gate on the right (of the map) just after you enter the cavern with the first Frostmaw Spawn in it. I have attempted this dungeon numerous times but this gates has always remained closed and I have had to go through the passage that the Beacon is closest to, which brings me through unneeded mobs to get around to the exit. I have killed the Frostmaw Spawn in the cavern, so am I missing something? Is this the result of the associated quest? -142.165.255.44 06:56, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

The first door to your south when you spawn in level 2, next to the Avalanches? I don't recall not being able to get any doors to open here, but I'm not sure we take the same route. You do have to kill the entire group of Wurms, not just the Spawn to get doors to open, and sometimes if you've pulled them really far one might burrow and run back to its starting place. Manifold 15:48, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

One of the best dungeons

It's just so epic...Wyrms are so huge and they look so intimidating! The boss was the icing of this dungeon, especially when this is playing! One of the best dungeons in Guild Wars IMO. 'Overlord Frosty'

Map Icon

Does this dungeon not have a map icon? I couldn't remember if I had done it yet and can't see an icon in either nm or hm. I kept expecting to read a note or anomaly here, but maybe it's just me? NachosWitCheese 17:11, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

In game? Sure, it has one both nm/HM (just tested the other day, to check my Master of the North progress).  — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 17:14, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

I have it now, showed up as soon as I took the required quest. If that's a requirement, I don't know if it's worth a note in the Dungeon page.NachosWitCheese 19:14, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

Glad to hear (see?) it's showing up for you now. And, no, I didn't have the quest (or associated ZB) active on most of the toons when I was checking.  — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 19:29, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

Bugged Chests on 3&4

I added a bug about how the hidden treasures may sometimes not spawn on the beginning of levels 3 and 4 of the dungeon. --ScorpDeception63 15:15, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

Has anyone tested whether these are fixed with the recent game update? Will be doing this dungeon later today so may have one data point. Robdalf 19:27, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

yes, these were fixed... See: talk:Hidden Treasure. – Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 20:44, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

You beat me to it. Completed this dungeon in HM last night and all pings resolved properly (mostly into chests). What a great dungeon for treasure and rewards. I think we had rubies, sapphires, diamonds and a bunch of lockpicks drop for our party out of the hidden treasures. Robdalf 23:57, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

Updated Hidden Treasure Spawns

Now that a lot more Hidden Treasure chests spawn, here's maps with the updated locations of the hidden treasure chests in this dungeon. Handy since in many cases the number of hidden treasure chests has doubled over what is shown on existing maps.

Blue dots = chests, yellow dots = switches

Level 2 chests: http://i.imgur.com/BYs6m.jpg

Level 3 chests: http://i.imgur.com/TE3qX.jpg

Level 4 chests: http://i.imgur.com/1S6jp.jpg

Level 5 chests: http://i.imgur.com/lDF8l.jpg

If anybody wants to upload those onto the talk page or somewhere that can show thumbnails, go for it, I couldn't quite figure out how. Happy treasure hunting Undead minion 08:08, 18 May 2012 (UTC)

Jotun - lvl 5

The Jotun and boulders only appear on level 5 in hard mode - in normal mode there is just a big empty area. I'm not sure how to neatly note this on the main page. --Chieftain Alex 23:02, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

Alternative Strategies

After tweaking my all hero team build, some suggestions to try: 1) Fire ele for the cold based mobs with Ward of Stability to counter the Jotun, Mandragor and Stormcloud Incubus. 2) Nature's Renewal to mitigate damage and aid in interrupts. I put this on my smiter, who also has Empathic Removal to provide support due to all the hexes and conditions. Avoid using any hexes (except Asuran Scan and possibly Wastrel's Worry) and any enchantments (except on dervs). 3) A domination Mesmer (probably the most important team member) with your favorite rupts (especially Complicate to counter the bile) plus Hex Eater Vortex and Hex Eater Signet. 4) Command para with Cautery Signet, "Stand Your Ground!", Anthem of Weariness (lots of physical allies), "Can't Touch This!" (to counter the air eles and some Mandragor), and "Never Surrender!". 5) Resto rit to provide protection spirits, healing and regen along with Pure Was Li Ming. 6) Mantra of Resolve on your primary healer to counter the rupts. 7) When taking on the wurm mobs, put down Nature's Renewal, flag your team a bit closer to the fight, and then pull solo with a bow getting the agro on you/allies. This helps to keep the wurms from going after your casters and the NR spirit. Lord Flynt 00:24, 13 April 2013 (UTC)