This evening I will do this dungeon with friends, I read on wiki the description an I'd like to know - from someone who already completed the dungeon - whether the "Minions of Zoldark" at the final boss are undead or not.
It's not clear on wiki, they're just described as axe warriors.
This to decide if we can go with 3 smiters as we did in Shards of Orr (with amazing results too).
Thanks in advance.
A question about Vloxen Excavation
Abnaxus
RTSFirebat
Only the last level has undead in it, so smiting is worth it. The last boss with his Minions are very easy to kill over and over again. I had no smiters on my H+H team and we killed him in under 2 mins with no deaths.
Not completely sure if they are undead, but more then likely they are.
Not completely sure if they are undead, but more then likely they are.
Arduin
From the talk page of Zoldark:
Quote:
Quote:
Zoldark's minions don't qualify as "summoned creatures" even though clearly they are undead and summoned. So skills like Holy Spear and Unnatural Signet aren't able to garner their benefits from these creatures. --Veraci 15:07, 5 September 2007 (UTC) So i'd guess holy damage doesn't add any benefit during the finale battle, as far as the minions are involved.
Hammer Drawn
Yep Holy Dmg really makes minimal difference in the boss fight. Just keep killing minions till he stops ressing them and he will be almost dead. Bring Light of Deldimore with you anyways cause there are treasure and such and I believe LoD deals HOly Dmg.
VitisVinifera
the holy damage applies to Minions of Zoldark -- if everyone brings light of deldrimor you can insta wipe them
Uber Mass
Or kill the minions once and keep his minion rezzing interupted... I use a mesmer hero for that
flipfly2004
i dont know if they are undeads but id recommend to take a slinter barrager + eoe... at the end splinter barrage his minions, just like magnonite farming. everytime the boss tries to heal/rez his minions... he offers his own HP... let him sac his life up to 25% and he no longer heals/rez his minions... at that time ur group can kill him because he is alone ^^
DaHammer
I did this just last night with an H&H group. Kill the Stone Summit healers first and then take out the gnashers. Take your time and be careful not to aggro more than one group at a time (basic GW101). When Zoldark raises his minions, he sacs some of his health so just ignore him, keep killing his minions and watch his health drop. When he's near death, he'll stop raising minions and thats when you concentrate your attacks on HIM. I killed him in under 2 minutes. I brought Mhenlo and Lina as my monks, Devona, Talon, 2 necro heroes (MM and SS), resto rit hero and myself (Ele).
RTSFirebat
??? There are no Stone Summit on the third level, just undead.
DaHammer
I know that. I was just giving him some general dungeon advice in addition to killing the last boss. I put that in because I was with a PUG before I went in myself and no one except me tried to take out the gnashers. Needless to say, we got overwhelmed very quickly just before we got to the last level. Sorry for any confusion.
Abnaxus
Thanks a lot for the information, this evening we'll try this, and I think we'll go with our standard anti melee heroes - eles with blinding surge, cracked armor, weakness and epidemic 
blue.rellik
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uber Mass
Or kill the minions once and keep his minion rezzing interupted... I use a mesmer hero for that
The best way for him to kill him is to let him res him minions
cyber88
Any1 can offer me builds for H/H. I am a monk & there seem to be no 1 doing volxen excavation HM. I tried frozen soil actually. I did manage to kill the healer & 2 of the 3 mesmers who had hard rezzes. But by this time, my minions died & I am swamped by the mobs minions & with those wars using res sigs & it was back to square 1.
Mark Nevermiss
I did it on my monk. among other characters, with H/H. Ran as smiter. Holy damage does double damage to the minions of Zoldark.
StormDragonZ
Here's something random about Vloxen: Took me two hours... on Normal Mode... with hero/hench... at -60% DP... with no consumables... at four in the morning.
But in regards to his minions, my Paragon hero used Holy Spear skill and it did normal damage, so holy doesn't work... could there be two kinds of holy?
But in regards to his minions, my Paragon hero used Holy Spear skill and it did normal damage, so holy doesn't work... could there be two kinds of holy?
Mark Nevermiss
This is the setup I used when I hero/henched it on my monk. I finished it in no more than 1 hour without an DP.
my monk:
Monk/Paragon:
[skill]Wearying Spear[/skill][skill]spear of light[/skill][skill]banish[/skill][skill]shield of judgment[/skill][skill]reversal of damage[/skill][skill]Smite Condition[/skill][skill]smite hex[/skill][skill]rebirth[/skill]
Sab's 3 necros
Mhenlo
Cynn
Herta
Lina
Careful pulling is essential. Use longbow if need be. This mainly concerns the stone summit.
3rd level resembles Thommis/Rend dungeon if you ever did it. When faced by choice go right.
Use Shield of Judgment o n the hero or henchman under heavy fire.
my monk:
Monk/Paragon:
[skill]Wearying Spear[/skill][skill]spear of light[/skill][skill]banish[/skill][skill]shield of judgment[/skill][skill]reversal of damage[/skill][skill]Smite Condition[/skill][skill]smite hex[/skill][skill]rebirth[/skill]
Sab's 3 necros
Mhenlo
Cynn
Herta
Lina
Careful pulling is essential. Use longbow if need be. This mainly concerns the stone summit.
3rd level resembles Thommis/Rend dungeon if you ever did it. When faced by choice go right.
Use Shield of Judgment o n the hero or henchman under heavy fire.
cyber88
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Nevermiss
This is the setup I used when I hero/henched it on my monk. I finished it in no more than 1 hour without an DP.
my monk:
Monk/Paragon:
[skill]Wearying Spear[/skill][skill]spear of light[/skill][skill]banish[/skill][skill]shield of judgment[/skill][skill]reversal of damage[/skill][skill]Smite Condition[/skill][skill]smite hex[/skill][skill]rebirth[/skill]
Sab's 3 necros
Mhenlo
Cynn
Herta
Lina
Careful pulling is essential. Use longbow if need be. This mainly concerns the stone summit.
3rd level resembles Thommis/Rend dungeon if you ever did it. When faced by choice go right.
Use Shield of Judgment o n the hero or henchman under heavy fire. For this setup, is it for HM or NM?
my monk:
Monk/Paragon:
[skill]Wearying Spear[/skill][skill]spear of light[/skill][skill]banish[/skill][skill]shield of judgment[/skill][skill]reversal of damage[/skill][skill]Smite Condition[/skill][skill]smite hex[/skill][skill]rebirth[/skill]
Sab's 3 necros
Mhenlo
Cynn
Herta
Lina
Careful pulling is essential. Use longbow if need be. This mainly concerns the stone summit.
3rd level resembles Thommis/Rend dungeon if you ever did it. When faced by choice go right.
Use Shield of Judgment o n the hero or henchman under heavy fire. For this setup, is it for HM or NM?
Jaceb
Quote:
Originally Posted by cyber88
Any1 can offer me builds for H/H. I am a monk & there seem to be no 1 doing volxen excavation HM. I tried frozen soil actually. I did manage to kill the healer & 2 of the 3 mesmers who had hard rezzes. But by this time, my minions died & I am swamped by the mobs minions & with those wars using res sigs & it was back to square 1.
HM Vloxen is one those most annoying places that i know. With a little luck; you can get to Taskmaster Bellok with almost any team builds but if you wipe there, it's over, sooo over. Or heck, even with great builds the HnH finds new ways to wipe against the casters on lvl 1 or a rather silly ways. One mistake, can sometimes cause a wipe no matter how small it was.
For Vloxen it's important that the FS is renewed before it expires and that it doesn't get killed by summit and/or minions (minions just love to gank it). I tested lots of different builds for two weeks and some work while others dont but nothing works perfect enough. There is always a change for a wipe or few deaths against the bigger groups (two healers on these).
These two worked the best:
MM Bombing builds with Jagged Bones work but due to their fragility the summit wipe them in seconds without taking that much damage while doing it. But it's still a distraction for melee if only for a limited time.
BHA Ranger works but not without cover conditions, poison or bleeding. Cant rely on it to stick around for too long or long enough to take down that healer or healers.
Third, well third.. it's a mystery. Mesmer hero that is an anti-caster is melee fodder, fire ele = melee-fodder. Blinds or water ele hex is removed by Healer/Priest - faster than it's to re-apply them. Wards & Enchants are the only solid ways to defend against summit melee that cant be removed (imo).
For third necro/rit healer (similar to sab's) has worked but not always, ritualist spirit spammer builds have worked (but again not perfect), smiting worked once then it didn't again (bad luck & good luck). SS necro would work but then i found out the power of summit healer/priest/defender duo - waste of effort to keep them up for long periods of time.
Ah well .. Earth ele with Wards worked the best usually (against foes/ward of weakness/against melee, eruption, unsteady ground, self defensive skills & energy management). You can't have all these wards so you have to pick one or two at max. Personally i'm using weakness ward since we can provide blocking other ways. Basically keep him locked on melee guys while everyone else is trying to get those healer(s) down. Dont ignore the melee or they will make you pay for it.
edit: forgot the quote >.< .
For Vloxen it's important that the FS is renewed before it expires and that it doesn't get killed by summit and/or minions (minions just love to gank it). I tested lots of different builds for two weeks and some work while others dont but nothing works perfect enough. There is always a change for a wipe or few deaths against the bigger groups (two healers on these).
These two worked the best:
MM Bombing builds with Jagged Bones work but due to their fragility the summit wipe them in seconds without taking that much damage while doing it. But it's still a distraction for melee if only for a limited time.
BHA Ranger works but not without cover conditions, poison or bleeding. Cant rely on it to stick around for too long or long enough to take down that healer or healers.
Third, well third.. it's a mystery. Mesmer hero that is an anti-caster is melee fodder, fire ele = melee-fodder. Blinds or water ele hex is removed by Healer/Priest - faster than it's to re-apply them. Wards & Enchants are the only solid ways to defend against summit melee that cant be removed (imo).
For third necro/rit healer (similar to sab's) has worked but not always, ritualist spirit spammer builds have worked (but again not perfect), smiting worked once then it didn't again (bad luck & good luck). SS necro would work but then i found out the power of summit healer/priest/defender duo - waste of effort to keep them up for long periods of time.
Ah well .. Earth ele with Wards worked the best usually (against foes/ward of weakness/against melee, eruption, unsteady ground, self defensive skills & energy management). You can't have all these wards so you have to pick one or two at max. Personally i'm using weakness ward since we can provide blocking other ways. Basically keep him locked on melee guys while everyone else is trying to get those healer(s) down. Dont ignore the melee or they will make you pay for it.
edit: forgot the quote >.< .
cyber88
That is so true. the rest of the dungeon, it was pretty ok with careful pulling. The shit started at the group guarding the door.
Hmmzzz....any chance of putting up your earth ele warder. I hope I can punch thru to the taskmaster with it. :P
Hmmzzz....any chance of putting up your earth ele warder. I hope I can punch thru to the taskmaster with it. :P
Quru
Take [skill]Aegis[/skill][skill]Light of Deliverance[/skill] for monks. They make it easier.
Minions ARE undead, so light of deldrimor makes things easier. I done it h/h, so only i had it, but very nice damage. Then, SS (me), fire-ele, earth-ele and some random stuff, went well. DONT INTERRUPT MINION REZ, as it sacrifices 5% of hp and Zoldrak don't regenerate. He stopped rezzing 'bout 15% hp, then just nuke him down. It's easy. IMO Sepulche of Dragrimmar is harder dungeon than this.
Minions ARE undead, so light of deldrimor makes things easier. I done it h/h, so only i had it, but very nice damage. Then, SS (me), fire-ele, earth-ele and some random stuff, went well. DONT INTERRUPT MINION REZ, as it sacrifices 5% of hp and Zoldrak don't regenerate. He stopped rezzing 'bout 15% hp, then just nuke him down. It's easy. IMO Sepulche of Dragrimmar is harder dungeon than this.
Jaceb
Quote:
Originally Posted by cyber88
That is so true. the rest of the dungeon, it was pretty ok with careful pulling. The shit started at the group guarding the door.
Hmmzzz....any chance of putting up your earth ele warder. I hope I can punch thru to the taskmaster with it. :P code: OgVDMTyMP7wThXFZE95hpCBA
name: So you wanna hit me with that axe?. Try again two legs.
Attributes: 14 Earth Magic & 12 Energy Storage
[wiki]Unsteady Ground[/wiki] - debatable: shockwave has larger AoE but no KD
[wiki]Eruption[/wiki]
[wiki]Ebon Hawk[/wiki]
[wiki]Ward of Weakness[/wiki]
[wiki]Glyph of Lesser Energy[/wiki]
[wiki]Sliver Armor[/wiki] or [wiki]Stoneflesh Aura[/wiki] both helps Zhed in this case to stay alive.
[wiki]Earth Attunement[/wiki]
- Hard Resurrect.
Sure there it is but i can just wish you good luck :P. That group is crazy.. with luck you can get the healer aggro-locked on you so then you can take him out without the others running around (they resurrect then
so place that soil).
Hmmzzz....any chance of putting up your earth ele warder. I hope I can punch thru to the taskmaster with it. :P code: OgVDMTyMP7wThXFZE95hpCBA
name: So you wanna hit me with that axe?. Try again two legs.
Attributes: 14 Earth Magic & 12 Energy Storage
[wiki]Unsteady Ground[/wiki] - debatable: shockwave has larger AoE but no KD
[wiki]Eruption[/wiki]
[wiki]Ebon Hawk[/wiki]
[wiki]Ward of Weakness[/wiki]
[wiki]Glyph of Lesser Energy[/wiki]
[wiki]Sliver Armor[/wiki] or [wiki]Stoneflesh Aura[/wiki] both helps Zhed in this case to stay alive.
[wiki]Earth Attunement[/wiki]
- Hard Resurrect.
Sure there it is but i can just wish you good luck :P. That group is crazy.. with luck you can get the healer aggro-locked on you so then you can take him out without the others running around (they resurrect then
so place that soil).
Longasc
1.) Smiting is a bad idea for this dungeon. Only the final level has some undead, and they are not a significant threat. Furthermore, Zoldark's Minions do not take double holy damage, so it is wasted. The early levels and huge Summit mobs are the problem.
2.) Take a SS Necro with Mark of Pain and 2 Splinter-Barragers with evasive stances and Throw Dirt. A MM is good, too, even if the Summoners steal your minions now and then. You need massive AoE damage. Unsteady Ground is a good suggestion, too.
3.) The physical attackers are the job of the SS player or SS Hero. Your focus must be (in that order):
- Summit Healer + Defender
- Summit Gnasher (Minions - you can also kill him first if he is exposed to attacks)
- Summit Sage (Empathy, also have some Hex removal skills)
4.) Use corner blocking to maximize Mark of Pain effects and Splinter Weapon. Works only if you have another human player with you or if you are Ranger/Warrior, needs some evasive stances or throw dirt.
My favorite strategy there is to have a Necro with Mark of Pain and Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support.
Then you ideally have some human players with the Assassin as well.
Cast Mark of Pain on a Healer/Defender and call the target, so that others can send their assassins on the target. This allows you to trigger Mark of Pain so often that it totally vaporizes the whole mob, even if it is around the corner (the big mob before the exit of level 1 e.g.). If this works, you do not even need Frozen Soil.
You do not really Smiters, it is not like that you are dealing with so much blindness as in Shards. There are also not so many undeads, but more dwarves. So aim lower. :>
2.) Take a SS Necro with Mark of Pain and 2 Splinter-Barragers with evasive stances and Throw Dirt. A MM is good, too, even if the Summoners steal your minions now and then. You need massive AoE damage. Unsteady Ground is a good suggestion, too.
3.) The physical attackers are the job of the SS player or SS Hero. Your focus must be (in that order):
- Summit Healer + Defender
- Summit Gnasher (Minions - you can also kill him first if he is exposed to attacks)
- Summit Sage (Empathy, also have some Hex removal skills)
4.) Use corner blocking to maximize Mark of Pain effects and Splinter Weapon. Works only if you have another human player with you or if you are Ranger/Warrior, needs some evasive stances or throw dirt.
My favorite strategy there is to have a Necro with Mark of Pain and Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support.
Then you ideally have some human players with the Assassin as well.
Cast Mark of Pain on a Healer/Defender and call the target, so that others can send their assassins on the target. This allows you to trigger Mark of Pain so often that it totally vaporizes the whole mob, even if it is around the corner (the big mob before the exit of level 1 e.g.). If this works, you do not even need Frozen Soil.
You do not really Smiters, it is not like that you are dealing with so much blindness as in Shards. There are also not so many undeads, but more dwarves. So aim lower. :>
Mark Nevermiss
Quote:
Originally Posted by cyber88
For this setup, is it for HM or NM?
I did it in NM. As soon as I do it in HM I will update :P
tmr819
Sab's is OK for Vloxens, but it helps to adjust the MM's skill bar so he's more useful on the last (undead) level (level 3), perhaps by adding [skill]Deathly Swarm[/skill]...
I also like to put [skill]Verata's Aura[/skill] on the MM for Vloxen's. (I usually have to activate this manually, for some reason.) This skill works nicely against the necro Summit minions.
I also like to put [skill]Verata's Aura[/skill] on the MM for Vloxen's. (I usually have to activate this manually, for some reason.) This skill works nicely against the necro Summit minions.
cyber88
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmr819
Sab's is OK for Vloxens, but it helps to adjust the MM's skill bar so he's more useful on the last (undead) level (level 3), perhaps by adding [skill]Deathly Swarm[/skill]...
I also like to put [skill]Verata's Aura[/skill] on the MM for Vloxen's. (I usually have to activate this manually, for some reason.) This skill works nicely against the necro Summit minions. Yea. Actually, I made some variations to Sab's MM for my use. Instead of bringing prot skills on him, I place a full death bar. (1/2 MM skills, 1/2 death attack skills) as I play an offensive smiter with some defensive smite skills. ) But verata's aura is wicked. I think stealing minions will be fun. :P hahaha. Will definately try it. (still unable to pass. )
I also like to put [skill]Verata's Aura[/skill] on the MM for Vloxen's. (I usually have to activate this manually, for some reason.) This skill works nicely against the necro Summit minions. Yea. Actually, I made some variations to Sab's MM for my use. Instead of bringing prot skills on him, I place a full death bar. (1/2 MM skills, 1/2 death attack skills) as I play an offensive smiter with some defensive smite skills. ) But verata's aura is wicked.
dragon spy
the boss is not the tough part once you get to him use AOE damage on his minnions and you will be good. getting to him is the fun part. took me alot of trys and some luck on my part. once your past the first level it get eaiser. so just focus on AOE damage on the first level and take it slow on the second level. blocking is a very needed deal here. some of these guys use res chant so thats what makes it so tough.
good luck
good luck
Avatar Exico
This place is perfect for MM, there alot of Corpses and Last Boss just kill his minions they are like MM food for your MMier, Use the MM to your Advantage i found out with this dungeon.
cyber88
Quote:
Originally Posted by Longasc
1.) Smiting is a bad idea for this dungeon.
Actually, after H/H since heroes were introduced, I realised that smiting is under-rated. I know 55 monks use it in their builds. I play neither a 55 or a 600 & armor ignoring damage is nice, especially against those stuff that have godly armor. I know we have crack armor condition to counter this but it is another way of playing & armor ignoring damage should never be under-estimate.
p.s. no offence to Longasc. hope you don't mind.
Edit: PUG volxen last night. There is a more or less an easier way to completing this dungeon. Use a standard slavers team. (1 obby tank, 1 bonder, 1 hb monk, 3 glyp of sac ms ele, 1 ss/br nec & 1 splinter barrager bringing symbosis & frozen soil or an ele with symbosis & frozen soil). Before tanking, the bonder bonds the tank with balth's spirit & life barrier & bonds himself with balth's spirit. So when the tank takes damage, the bonder will also gain energy. the hb monk will bring seed of life & healing seed.
This is the sequence. 1st, the obby tank will go & lure the mobs & let them stick to him. Once this is done, the hb monk will use healing seed on the bonder. This will trigger healing seed & bonder is being damaged. This also help heal the obby tank from afar. When healing seed ends, use seed of life. Rinse & repeat. At the same time, frozen soil will be set so that the mobs cannot rez when the die. The nukers & barrager will charge in & nuke the s*** out the the mobs. With 3 MS, usually nothing will stand but if there are, just pick them off.
Rinse & repeat until you reach Zodark. Zordark is a joke. Before you fight him. Set up symbosis so that everyone has higher health. Let the minons stick to the obby tank & nuke the s*** out of them. Let Zodark rez them & rinse & repeat.
Took my group abt 2 hours but it was manageable. Also, bring comsumables if u can. It make this dungeon easier.
p.s. no offence to Longasc. hope you don't mind.
Edit: PUG volxen last night. There is a more or less an easier way to completing this dungeon. Use a standard slavers team. (1 obby tank, 1 bonder, 1 hb monk, 3 glyp of sac ms ele, 1 ss/br nec & 1 splinter barrager bringing symbosis & frozen soil or an ele with symbosis & frozen soil). Before tanking, the bonder bonds the tank with balth's spirit & life barrier & bonds himself with balth's spirit. So when the tank takes damage, the bonder will also gain energy. the hb monk will bring seed of life & healing seed.
This is the sequence. 1st, the obby tank will go & lure the mobs & let them stick to him. Once this is done, the hb monk will use healing seed on the bonder. This will trigger healing seed & bonder is being damaged. This also help heal the obby tank from afar. When healing seed ends, use seed of life. Rinse & repeat. At the same time, frozen soil will be set so that the mobs cannot rez when the die. The nukers & barrager will charge in & nuke the s*** out the the mobs. With 3 MS, usually nothing will stand but if there are, just pick them off.
Rinse & repeat until you reach Zodark. Zordark is a joke. Before you fight him. Set up symbosis so that everyone has higher health. Let the minons stick to the obby tank & nuke the s*** out of them. Let Zodark rez them & rinse & repeat.
Took my group abt 2 hours but it was manageable. Also, bring comsumables if u can. It make this dungeon easier.