Vanquisher

Vanquisher
Campaign	Prophecies Factions Nightfall
Title type	Character

"VQ" redirects here. For the pre-Searing Vanguard quests, see Lieutenant Langmar.

The Vanquisher title tracks are granted to a character who clears all explorable areas of foes in hard mode. There is one single-tiered title track for each campaign. Acquiring all of them will complete the Legendary Vanquisher title track. These titles can be displayed in the "Honor" monument.

Vanquisher title track

Title1	Campaign	Areas vanquished
Tyrian Vanquisher	Prophecies	54
Canthan Vanquisher	Factions	33
Elonian Vanquisher	Nightfall	34

¹ These titles are distinct single-level tracks; each one counts towards the Kind of a Big Deal title track.

Legendary Vanquisher title track

Title	Total maxed vanquisher
Legendary Vanquisher	3

Acquisition

Zen Daijun vanquished, on the World Map of Shing Jea Island.

Vanquisher is a title given for "vanquishing" all explorable areas found in Tyria, Cantha, or Elona. Only areas marked on the World Map with a small helmet (that appears while the hard mode option has been selected in the Party Formation panel) can be vanquished.

Vanquishing an area

The Vanquisher counter in its incomplete (with 1 foe vanquished) and completed state, respectively.

To vanquish an area, you must defeat every primary foe that spawns in hard mode, which means you do not have to kill any of the following (and killing them does not add to the kill count unless noted):

• Summoned creatures (such as spirits or minions). Includes summoned animal companions (e.g. Drakes summoned by Charm Drake).
• Passive charmable animals, unless they become hostile (e.g. animal companions that are charmed by foes), which will add to the kill count. A minion master in need of corpses should consider killing them anyway.
• Popups or other types of hidden foes, unless you trigger them, which will add to the kill count.
• Resurrected foes.

You can track your progress via the hard mode indicator icon, which appears in your effects monitor whenever you enter an explorable area in hard mode. In hard mode explorable areas that can be vanquished, the red bar stretches to reflect the fraction of already-spawned total; the number indicates the total killed so far; since the number you must kill is not fixed, the red bar can shrink even as the number killed increases.

Should every member of your party reach 60% Death Penalty before completely vanquishing the area, your party will be defeated and be returned to its originating outpost. In contrast, if you complete a vanquish and then trigger new spawns (e.g. from a quest), those foes are not counted as part of your total; you still get credit at the original number.

Rewards for vanquishing

The gold helmet that appears to show that you have finished vanquishing the current area.

When an area has been successfully vanquished, a message will appear to notify you of your success. If this is the first time you vanquished that area, your title track progresses and the hard mode map icon for the vanquished area will change from a red color to a gold color.

You will then be rewarded with both experience and gold equal to 5 times the number of foes defeated in the area. In some regions, you will earn additional reputation with the local population:

• Guild Wars Factions: Kurzick or Luxon faction equal to 50 times the number of foes killed are awarded in areas in the Echovald Forest or the Jade Sea respectively, regardless of which nation controls the area at the time.
• Guild Wars Nightfall: Sunspear or Lightbringer points equal to 5 times the number of foes are awarded in areas in Istan/Kourna and Vabbi/the Desolation respectively.
• Guild Wars Eye of the North: reputation rewards are equal to 5 times the number of foes — Norn points are awarded in the Far Shiverpeaks, Vanguard in the Charr Homelands, and Asura on the Tarnished Coast. (There are no vanquishing rewards that progress the Deldrimor rank.)

Specific weekly bonuses can increase these rewards. An area can be vanquished multiple times, allowing you to repeat an area to gain the rewards.

Bug.The hard mode version of the World Map will mark all explorable areas in Tyria as if each is available for vanquishing, even if your character has only started either Prophecies or Eye of the North. The bug also applies to missions and dungeons, but only shows up if your account is linked to both campaigns.

Explorable area kill counts

Hidden foes are noted in the rightmost column, but it's worth to check out the specific areas' page for a list of difficult enemies, bugs and other pitfalls.

Prophecies

Region	Explorable Area	Average	Min Kills	Max Kills	Notes
Southern Shiverpeaks	Grenth's Footprint	241	238	243
Ring of Fire Islands	Perdition Rock	230	215	246
Crystal Desert	Diviner's Ascent	135	108	159
Crystal Desert	Prophet's Path	300	214	317
Crystal Desert	Salt Flats	200	146	255
Crystal Desert	Skyward Reach	162	162	178
Crystal Desert	The Arid Sea	110	87	137
Crystal Desert	The Scar	250	233	274
Crystal Desert	Vulture Drifts	230	207	261
Southern Shiverpeaks	Dreadnought's Drift	115	111	124
Southern Shiverpeaks	Frozen Forest	310	304	323
Southern Shiverpeaks	Ice Floe	207	187	233
Southern Shiverpeaks	Icedome	130	120	141
Southern Shiverpeaks	Lornar's Pass	286	270	301
Southern Shiverpeaks	Mineral Springs	195	182	208	There are hidden Azure Shadows in the cave leading towards the Ancient Seer, hidden Frost Wurms at Maw the Mountain Heart's spawn point, and an occasional hidden Juniper Bark near Pinesouls.
Southern Shiverpeaks	Snake Dance	350	300	418
Southern Shiverpeaks	Spearhead Peak	215	208	234
Southern Shiverpeaks	Talus Chute	395	375	420
Southern Shiverpeaks	Tasca's Demise	93	78	109
Southern Shiverpeaks	Witman's Folly	100	88	112
Maguuma Jungle	Dry Top	55	50	62
Maguuma Jungle	Ettin's Back	195	166	220
Kryta	Majesty's Rest	65	44	85	All the visible enemies are concentrated in the eastern half, so it is recommended to start from Temple of the Ages and approach from Talmark Wilderness.
Maguuma Jungle	The Falls	300	279	327
Maguuma Jungle	Tangle Root	210	191	239
Maguuma Jungle	Sage Lands	240	176	296
Maguuma Jungle	Silverwood	210	185	221
Maguuma Jungle	Mamnoon Lagoon	58	55	60
Maguuma Jungle	Reed Bog	85	64	107
Kryta	Cursed Lands	76	72	83	There are a lot of hidden Grasping Ghouls.
Kryta	Kessex Peak	190	156	205	Has hidden foes.
Kryta	Nebo Terrace	150	138	226	There are hidden Spined Aloes in the northwestern area.
Kryta	North Kryta Province	185	126	241	Has hidden foes.
Kryta	Scoundrel's Rise	68	63	105
Kryta	Watchtower Coast	160	135	176	There are usually a few hidden Spined Aloes near the Oakhearts.
Kryta	Stingray Strand	150	150	170	Has hidden Large Spined Aloes throughout the area.
Kryta	Tears of the Fallen	64	64	72	A group of Bog Skale Icetooths may be difficult to spot in the southwestern corner, across a gap from Arris Weston.
Kryta	The Black Curtain	230	207	306	Has many hidden foes.
Kryta	Twin Serpent Lakes	185	171	194	A Spined Aloe is hidden between Ancient Oakhearts.
Northern Shiverpeaks	Anvil Rock	233	209	252
Northern Shiverpeaks	Griffon's Mouth	45	43	53
Northern Shiverpeaks	Iron Horse Mine	180	160	194
Northern Shiverpeaks	Traveler's Vale	196	163	191	There are hidden Juniper Barks throughout the area.
Northern Shiverpeaks	Deldrimor Bowl	185	150	210
Ascalon	Ascalon Foothills	55	51	59
Ascalon	Diessa Lowlands	350	271	393	There are many hidden groups of devourers on the eastern half of the map, with a large number of them closely-packed in the tar-filled northeastern end. As such, it is recommended to clear the rest of the map before venturing to the northeastern corner.
Ascalon	Dragon's Gullet	130	117	176	Has hidden Devourers.
Ascalon	Eastern Frontier	190	180	216	There are many hidden Devourer groups in this area, concentrated mostly in the southern half.
Ascalon	Flame Temple Corridor	100	96	122	Has hidden Devourers.
Ascalon	Old Ascalon	245	200	304	The Eastern portion has numerous Devourer and Crown of Thorns pop-ups.
Ascalon	Regent Valley	150	129	178	There are many hidden Devourers in this area.
Ascalon	Pockmark Flats	170	135	234	There are numerous Devourer pop-ups throughout the zone, with a large number in the northern valley surrounding the Searing Crystal.
Ascalon	The Breach	130	100	134	Has hidden Devourers and Crown of Thorns.
Kryta	Talmark Wilderness	225	185	244	There are hidden Fog Nightmares throughout the area, encountered either alone or in pairs.

Beyond

Region	Explorable Area	Average	Min Kills	Max Kills	Notes
Kryta	Nebo Terrace (War in Kryta)	240	205	272
Kryta	Kessex Peak (War in Kryta)	154		186
Kryta	North Kryta Province (War in Kryta)	190	166	213
Kryta	Scoundrel's Rise (War in Kryta)	66-67	65	70
Kryta	Talmark Wilderness (War in Kryta)	195	183	212
Kryta	Twin Serpent Lakes (War in Kryta)	135	121	150
Kryta	Watchtower Coast (War in Kryta)	155	120	234	Has hidden Peacekeepers and Spined Aloes.
Kryta	The Black Curtain (War in Kryta)	290	263	309	There are a lot of hidden creatures in this area.
Kryta	Cursed Lands (War in Kryta)	86	78	89

• Total gold reward accumulated from vanquishing these areas averages to about 49.
• The War in Kryta versions of explorable areas contain significantly harder foes than their regular counterparts.
• All areas in Prophecies other than Watchtower Coast can be vanquished with a full party of 8 players. See this section section for details.

Factions

Region	Explorable Area	Average	Min Kills	Max Kills	Notes
Kaineng City	Bukdek Byway	135	63	228
Shing Jea Island	Zen Daijun (explorable area)	163	160	166
Shing Jea Island	Sunqua Vale	135	98	152
Shing Jea Island	Kinya Province	115	83	146
Shing Jea Island	Minister Cho's Estate (explorable area)	210	183	220
Shing Jea Island	Saoshang Trail	33	28	37
Shing Jea Island	Panjiang Peninsula	168	131	235
Shing Jea Island	Jaya Bluffs	195	163	202
Shing Jea Island	Haiju Lagoon	160	158	205
The Jade Sea	Boreas Seabed (explorable area)	200	147	237
The Jade Sea	Unwaking Waters (explorable area)	146	134	158
The Jade Sea	Gyala Hatchery (explorable area)	195	183	209
The Jade Sea	Maishang Hills	185	150	274
The Jade Sea	Archipelagos	197	156	238
The Jade Sea	Mount Qinkai	140	110	190
The Jade Sea	Rhea's Crater	240	224	271
The Jade Sea	Silent Surf	259	235	283
Echovald Forest	Arborstone (explorable area)	309	245	372
Echovald Forest	The Eternal Grove (explorable area)	241	226	256
Echovald Forest	Drazach Thicket	225	207	281
Echovald Forest	Mourning Veil Falls	215	200	227
Echovald Forest	Ferndale	245	225	346
Echovald Forest	Melandru's Hope	177	157	228
Echovald Forest	Morostav Trail	297	269	318
Kaineng City	Pongmei Valley	146	127	171
Kaineng City	Xaquang Skyway	161	153	168
Kaineng City	Nahpui Quarter (explorable area)	110	96	112	Has hidden groups of Jade Brotherhood.
Kaineng City	Raisu Palace (explorable area)	255	242	264
Kaineng City	Shadow's Passage	14	6	39
Kaineng City	Wajjun Bazaar	220	70	271
Kaineng City	Shenzun Tunnels	240	180	256
Kaineng City	Sunjiang District (explorable area)	205	195	210
Kaineng City	Tahnnakai Temple (explorable area)	125	121	134

Beyond

Region	Explorable Area	Average	Min Kills	Max Kills	Notes
Kaineng City	Shadow's Passage (Winds of Change)	31	22	39
Kaineng City	Shenzun Tunnels (Winds of Change)	218	216	220
Echovald Forest	Morostav Trail (Winds of Change)	272	268	275
The Jade Sea	Rhea's Crater (Winds of Change)	207	207	207
Kaineng City	Bukdek Byway (Winds of Change)	132	132	132
The Jade Sea	Silent Surf (Winds of Change)	225	225	225
Shing Jea Island	Zen Daijun (Winds of Change)	297	254	339
Kaineng City	Pongmei Valley (Winds of Change)	124	120	127
Shing Jea Island	Haiju Lagoon (Winds of Change)	75	56	94
Shing Jea Island	Minister Cho's Estate (Winds of Change)	200	182	243
Kaineng City	Sunjiang District (Winds of Change)	168	140	195

• Total gold reward accumulated from vanquishing these areas averages to about 30.
• The Winds of Change versions of explorable areas contain significantly harder foes than their regular counterparts.
• The areas on the Western and Eastern halves of Shing Jea Island can only be vanquished with a maximum party size of 4 or 6 respectively.

Nightfall

Region	Explorable Area	Average	Min Kills	Max Kills	Notes
Istan	Plains of Jarin	209	188	229
Istan	Cliffs of Dohjok	121	113	201
Istan	Zehlon Reach	243	222	264
Istan	Fahranur, The First City	220	196	244
Istan	Lahtenda Bog	401	356	611
Istan	Issnur Isles	350	339	361
Istan	Mehtani Keys	246	210	281
Kourna	Bahdok Caverns	281	258	304
Kourna	Barbarous Shore	177	153	201
Kourna	Arkjok Ward	324	279	368
Kourna	Dejarin Estate	249	230	268
Kourna	The Floodplain of Mahnkelon	232	200	281
Kourna	Gandara, the Moon Fortress	94	64	124
Kourna	Jahai Bluffs	281	251	310
Kourna	Marga Coast	292	254	330
Kourna	Sunward Marches	297	267	327
Kourna	Turai's Procession	195	163	219
Vabbi	Garden of Seborhin	261	214	307
Vabbi	Holdings of Chokhin	234	220	248
Vabbi	Resplendent Makuun	182	150	206
Vabbi	The Hidden City of Ahdashim	231	205	257
Vabbi	The Mirror of Lyss	204	158	250
Vabbi	Forum Highlands	289	243	334
Vabbi	Vehjin Mines	173	139	206
Vabbi	Vehtendi Valley	242	225	259
Vabbi	Yatendi Canyons	212	191	232
Vabbi	Wilderness of Bahdza	168	159	176
The Desolation	Crystal Overlook	196	190	201
The Desolation	Joko's Domain	382	326	438
The Desolation	The Shattered Ravines	310	278	341
The Desolation	The Alkali Pan	300	281	326
The Desolation	The Sulfurous Wastes	329	237	421
The Desolation	Poisoned Outcrops	227	176	277
The Desolation	The Ruptured Heart	240	236	243

• Total gold reward accumulated from vanquishing these areas averages to about 42.
• Vanquishing all areas will grant approximately 21k Sunspear points and 20k Lightbringer points in addition to any bounties taken.
• All areas in Istan can be vanquished with a full party of 8 players. See this section section for details.

Eye of the North

Region	Explorable Area	Average	Min Kills	Max Kills	Notes
Far Shiverpeaks	Varajar Fells	502	463	541
Far Shiverpeaks	Jaga Moraine	271	251	290
Far Shiverpeaks	Ice Cliff Chasms	152	141	163
Far Shiverpeaks	Norrhart Domains	258	229	286
Far Shiverpeaks	Bjora Marches	236	220	252
Far Shiverpeaks	Drakkar Lake	429	330	527
Tarnished Coast	Verdant Cascades	288	268	308
Tarnished Coast	Sparkfly Swamp	332	310	353
Charr Homelands	Sacnoth Valley	429	390	468
Tarnished Coast	Magus Stones	389	368	409
Charr Homelands	Grothmar Wardowns	217	189	240
Charr Homelands	Dalada Uplands	292	278	306
Tarnished Coast	Arbor Bay	469	375	563
Tarnished Coast	Riven Earth	280	260	299
Tarnished Coast	Alcazia Tangle	229	220	237

• Total gold reward accumulated from vanquishing these areas averages to about 24.

Larger party sizes

You can increase your party size for vanquishing by starting from an outpost further along in the campaign; this is often called caravan vanquishing. Since you will not be able to enter outposts along the way, plan carefully, e.g. allow for sufficient inventory space and bring Death Penalty removal items.

The following outposts can be used to increase party sizes for the listed areas:

Prophecies

Outpost	Party size	Vanquishable areas
Yak's Bend	6	all Ascalon areas.
Temple of the Ages	8	WEST: all western Kryta areas and Maguuma Jungle areas. EAST: all eastern Kryta areas (except Watchtower Coast), Northern Shiverpeaks areas and Ascalon areas.
Camp Rankor or Deldrimor War Camp	8	Dreadnought's Drift and Lornar's Pass.
Mouth of Torment (requires Nightfall)	8	all Crystal Desert areas, using the teleporter in Crystal Overlook to enter the Arid Sea.

Nightfall

Outpost	Party size	Vanquishable areas
Beknur Harbor or Blacktide Den	8	Zehlon Reach.
Dajkah Inlet	8	Plains of Jarin. Dockmaster Dimedeh will teleport the party to Kamadan: all players, any henchmen available in Kamadan, and up to three heroes per player (maximum of six, for two players).

Post-mission caravans

A party of 8 can also caravan vanquish the Plains of Jarin after completing one of the following missions:

Mission	Arrival point	Party composition
Blacktide Den	Sunspear Great Hall	Same as Dajkah Inlet above (players, henchmen available in the hall, and up to three heroes per player).
Venta Cemetery	Kamadan	Same as Dajkah Inlet above (players, local henchmen, up to three heroes per player).
Abaddon's Gate	Kamadan	Players only (speak to Volatiss in the Throne of Secrets to be transported back to Istan).

Notes

• Unspawned popup foes do not need to be killed to vanquish the area, but they must be killed once they have spawned. However, if a Wurm has been spawned but it is underground at the time when the last foe has been killed (except for the Wurm), you will have vanquished the area even though the Wurm will pop back up. These foes can greatly impact the amount of kills required.
• Quests often change the type and quantities of enemies in any given area, and can heavily change the number of kills required to vanquish an area.
• Unlike bounties, the Vanquisher kill counter will include all enemy deaths, even those not caused by the player's party. This can happen when multiple groups of foes engage each other.
• "We have vanquished 0 foe[s]!" appears in team chat if you call the Vanquisher kill counter before the area has been vanquished. "We have vanquished every foe in the area!" appears in team chat if you call the Vanquisher kill counter after the area has been vanquished. "We" is used even when your character is the only party member.

Anomaly.There is at least one area in which the kill counter might not properly reflect progress under some narrow conditions. For details, see the Wajjun Bazaar article.

Tips

• Remember to bring Lockpicks to open chests along the way.
• Combines well with Cartographer titles, since both require navigating the entire area. Remember to scrape the borders; for example, in Cantha, you will earn 90% of the title simply by scraping while vanquishing.
• Combines well with allegiance titles (Sunspear, Kurzick, Luxon, Lightbringer, Asura, Norn, and Ebon Vanguard) as you can use bounties to collect allegiance points. Avoid unnecessary work by completing the vanquisher titles first; you have a good chance of maxing Sunspear and Lightbringer ranks by the same time that you vanquish the last area in Nightfall.
• In the Jade Sea and Echovald Forest:
  • You can accept an opposing allegiance blessing and end up collecting faction that will be wasted. (However, you still receive health bonuses; if both sides have shrines in the area, you can gain both bonuses).
  • Attempt to vanquish areas that currently do not have opposing priests (i.e. Kurzick Priests when you have more unspent Luxon faction than Kurzick faction; Luxon Priests when you have more unspent Kurzick faction than Luxon faction), pull foes away from an opposing priest, or kill opposing priests instead of bribing them, since they will heal allies and foes (which can prolong vanquishes) even after you bribe them.
• Death Penalty removal items are very useful, e.g. Powerstones of Courage or Honeycombs.
• Bring Mercantile Summoning Stones on long vanquishing routes so that you can sell off accumulated drops to free up inventory space. You can use another summoning stone instead of a Mercantile Summoning Stone when vanquishing an area with a merchant (e.g. faction merchants in the Jade Sea and Echovald Forest), artisan, and/or weaponsmith.
• Some players prefer beginning with the Canthan Vanquisher title: it has the fewest required areas, some of the smallest areas, and all the areas can be entered directly from an outpost or town. Tyrian Vanquisher has the largest areas, the greatest number of areas, and the highest percentage of areas that cannot be entered directly from an outpost or town (which is also the reason Prophecies has the most areas that can be caravan vanquished).
• Vanquish in sections, to avoid having to return to find a missing patrol or group — choose a small room or area and clear it before moving on. This allows you to move methodically around the area with efficiency and speed.
  • If you go clockwise around an area and miss a group, try moving counterclockwise, and vice-versa. Some groups can have long, cyclical patrols, and may be travelling the same way you have been.

Trivia

• Faction or reputation points are awarded for vanquishing since the November 13, 2008 update.

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