Can I make it to Nicholas this week?

Hi, very new player here, hopefully this is the right place to post my question.

I have a single level 20 character currently in the Southern Shiverpeaks, but with access to all chapters. Nicholas is in Factions near the Gyala Hatchery Mission, it seems. So my question is, how long would it take me to play from the join point of Factions through to where Nicholas is? I'm playing with a friend (also with only one level 20 character), and we picked up a couple heroes from the beginning of EotN.

I don't have a ton of time to play (couple hours a night, more on the weekend) but I don't have a good feel for how long that section of the game is. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

I would say with two people and a group of heroes/hench you are able to reach gyala hatchery within a few days (casual gameplay).
You'll basically need to complete primary quests and missions until you reach Cavalon, after which you will then need to complete the primary quest Befriending the luxons which requires you to obtain 10,000 unspent luxon faction. After this quest, you are then able to take the primary quest to get to the Gyala Hatchery mission, after finishing this mission you can then enter the explorable area from the next outpost.

ok so it is after the 10000 faction points. The intro says that's a grind, hopefully we can do it in time. Thanks!

When you get to Kaineng Center, you will have to do a series of obligatory primary quests and missions. Unlike Prophecies, you can't skip anything because explorables are closed until you have met the requirements, so there is no way to get a run.

There will be six missions and 10 primary quests between you and entry to Cavalon once you arrive in Kaineng, from which you can exit into the Archipelagos and get to Nick.

I would guess maybe six hours in total could put you in Cavalon. Figure about half an hour for each mission, since most of them have a time limit of 20-30 minutes for master's reward, giving you a starting minimum of three hours. Then figure up to half an hour for the primary quests between each mission, giving you another three hours. (Most of the primary quests involve quite a bit of running around, and Kaineng City is full of can't-get-there-from-here situations.)

Honestly, I don't think it's worth it for the value of one week's worth of Nick gifts. It's going to be a lot more fun to play the campaign in a relaxed manner, and to learn your way around as you explore and do side quests.

Edit: You do NOT need to get 10k faction or get to the Gyala Hatchery mission to get to Nick. Archipelagos is right outside of Cavalon. As soon as you reach Cavalon, you can enter that explorable. (In fact, you have to in order to do the quests that will earn you 10k faction and get you into Gyala.)

ok that does make it sound longer. thanks for the input.

I did it actually in about 16hours following BrettM's route of play but with also some secondaries. But that was on my second try with a different profession. On my first try, It took me double the time because I had no experience running the missions and did not have textmods so was going back and forth looking at the maps on GW wiki. If you have the texmods for Mission maps opened it will be faster. If not, at least have those maps opened in wiki when you do your missions.

When factions (the time you could play it a weekend early with CE) came out, I was able to get to Raisu Palace in a day (~14 hours, 2nd to last mission) after starting an Assassin. And I was terrible at Assassin. Factions is incredibly short. Just stick to the main quest line, it is very linear. You will be there in no time at all.

Edit: My ingame name is Cyrus Glaedr. I don't do much anymore since I got my HoM at 45/50 (and don't expect ever to get 50/50), and will be more than willing to help you get there as fast as possible. But trust me, in this week it will be no problem at all to get there.

i dont think you need 10k faction to zone into Archipelagos if you use the other route. The Cavalon wiki entry details another method of getting there.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Cavalon

16 hours? Jeez I think I did it in like 6 the first time around.

In a rush you can get there in about 5-6 hours as long as you don't fail anything

i would just check the wiki to see where he will be next week and work on making sure your characters are ready by then. rushing just for 5 gifts IMO really isnt worth it.

ok thanks for all the feedback. I think I'll skip this week and just work on finishing prophecies. This can be closed now