Friggin' Hydras!
BTSchnarfy
Hey all! This is my first time through the game, and I'm in the desert trying to get my collector armor before I ascend. However, them pesky Hydras are putting a large damper on that. If they are only in pairs, it's not a problem. If they are in groups of three or more, I get killed more often than not. I read on the wiki that they can't be knocked down, so no use in bringing Meteor anymore. I'm an E/Me right now, and apparently I suck at killing stuff in the desert. Any tips?
Calista Blackblood
Marty Silverblade
Ward Against Elements may be of use. You'll have it if you've been doing the quests diligently. Other than skills, you may want to spread your team out to make sure they don't all get hit by Meteor and Fireball. You can use the flags below the compass to spread them out. If you don't have heroes (only henchmen) there isn't much you can do, but if you have heroes you can spread them out properly.
BTSchnarfy
I just did some more reading on heroes. I have a few, but I never realized how much more versatile they really were. I have Ward Against Elements, but I'll see if I can get those other skills from the trainers. I'll let ya know how it goes. Thanks for the help! 
Skyy High
Bring an interrupt hero too.
DeanBB
Since you're /mesmer you could bring interrupts and hopefully stop some of their spells. Heroes are better at it though. Well, better 'n me for sure!
BTSchnarfy
Well last night I decided to get more heroes, so I went to Nightfall and Eye of the North. So now I have 9 or so. Hopefully that will be enough for a while. I also went to Cantha to get the Ward of Stability skill. That works wonders! The only time I got overwhelmed was when the minions from Olias would run off and get into trouble. I don't think I should bring him anymore (at least in the desert). Oh, and I have Gwen set up to be my interrupter. So far, I'm liking this whole hero thing. Thanks all!
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[???]Izzie[???]
Yup get too many of those buggers together and they wipe your whole party. The trick is to interrupt them like the nice people above me are saying ^^. I like to use dshot and savage to stop them from using meteor shower which is their main power skill. Spreading out heroes or players is a good idea too. Hopefully you got it going alright 
BrettM
Aside from the advice above, I would suggest not bothering with the collector armor, which can't be upgraded with insignias. If your current armor is good enough to get you the trophies for the Desert collectors, it's good enough to get you through the Desert missions to Droknars. Alternatively, since you have access to heroes, you can just buy a set of max armor at Boreal Station or Consulate Docks.
DeanBB
Another note to hopefully make you feel better: The desert is tough. You're party is a little under sized for the enemies you face and the healer henchies are barely adequate. Taking two healers reduces offensive power, yet it seems they are needed for survival.
So don't feel bad about struggling in the desert on your first time through. It is one of the points that the game kicks up the difficulty by a notch or two. I think the next challenge comes at Thunderhead Keep, but since you have a good assortment of heroes now it shouldn't be too daunting for you.
So don't feel bad about struggling in the desert on your first time through. It is one of the points that the game kicks up the difficulty by a notch or two. I think the next challenge comes at Thunderhead Keep, but since you have a good assortment of heroes now it shouldn't be too daunting for you.
FengShuiDove
[Psychic Instability]
Desert is tough, so don't get frustrated over it. You're learning valuable things like tailoring your party to counter certain foes and spread your heroes manually when necessary.
Desert is tough, so don't get frustrated over it. You're learning valuable things like tailoring your party to counter certain foes and spread your heroes manually when necessary.
squiros
i remember that area being particularly difficult, actually. it turns out that the only way i got through it, was to use an e/me hydra farming build, and the rest of my team was built normally. it was stonestrike, mantra earth, ward of stabil, and it required a 20% enchantment staff and the timing was excruciating. the other 5 members were built to take down the life stealing bugs.
Jeydra
Split your heroes / henchmen up before you aggro them ... or put Prot Spirit on yourself, flag heroes behind, then run close to the Hydras and unflag heroes, calling target in the meantime.
If you let the Fire AoE explode on your party unmitigated, you're going to suffer, Ward against Elements or no Ward against Elements. With good aggro however, Fire Eles like Hydras are a lot less dangerous. You don't need interrupts and you don't need wards, Prot Spirit is a cure-all solution.
If you let the Fire AoE explode on your party unmitigated, you're going to suffer, Ward against Elements or no Ward against Elements. With good aggro however, Fire Eles like Hydras are a lot less dangerous. You don't need interrupts and you don't need wards, Prot Spirit is a cure-all solution.
BTSchnarfy
Thanks for all the tips, everyone! I managed to make it to all of the mission outposts without too much hassle. Hopefully tomorrow I'll start to tackle those so I can get ascended (my buddies are bugging me to go to the Underworld with them)!
BTSchnarfy
Well I managed to complete the 4 ascension missions a little bit ago, so I'm in The Dragon's Lair now. I'm assuming it's a good idea to take this time to do all of the secondary profession quests and go back to Ascalon to do the remaining skill quests before going any further?
BrettM
I don't think it really matters whether you do that before Dragon's Lair or afterward. I've had characters do it both ways.
The first part of the second attribute point quest, which you will get in Drok's after you finish Dragon's Lair, will send you back to the Desert non-mission outposts anyway. That is a convenient time to take care of the profession-changing quests. However, just visiting the three outposts is enough to trigger the second part of the attribute-point quest, so you can defer the profession quests if you want.
After that, there is no great hurry about doing the old skill quests. If there is a skill you badly want, then go for it, else do them when the mood strikes you. Just remember to set your secondary profession properly before taking the reward for one of those quests, to ensure that you get the secondary skill you prefer.
The first part of the second attribute point quest, which you will get in Drok's after you finish Dragon's Lair, will send you back to the Desert non-mission outposts anyway. That is a convenient time to take care of the profession-changing quests. However, just visiting the three outposts is enough to trigger the second part of the attribute-point quest, so you can defer the profession quests if you want.
After that, there is no great hurry about doing the old skill quests. If there is a skill you badly want, then go for it, else do them when the mood strikes you. Just remember to set your secondary profession properly before taking the reward for one of those quests, to ensure that you get the secondary skill you prefer.
BTSchnarfy
