Winds of Change Part 3 Guide

A brief overview of of the Winds of Change Part 3 quests for both Normal mode and Hard mode.

Part 3 of the Winds of Change provides both familiar and innovative quests and serves to wrap up the Winds of Change arc for Guild Wars:Beyond. Two new heroes become available, Miku the Assassin upon the completion of Normal mode, and Zei Ri the Ritualist upon the completion of Hard mode. The final part introduced Imperial weapons and many new green weapons. It also feature more significant changes between Normal mode and Hard mode quests.

The guide is mostly in terms of use with heroes, but the strategy is the same for any group.

Requirements:
To start Winds of Change Part 3, requires completion of A Treaty's a Treaty and hence all Normal mode quests from Winds of Change Part 1 and 2.

To start HM Winds of Change Part 3, requires completion of A Treaty's a Treaty (Hard mode) and hence all Hard mode quests from Winds of Change Part 1 and 2. Completing the Normal mode version of a quest unlocks the Hard mode version.

Enemies:
Enemy groups in aren't as much of a headache as those in the first two parts, but just as aggressive. Anet seems bound and determined to dissuade use of heroways, sticking DoT skills in seemingly every group for your heroes to sit in and get themselves killed. They were nice to give you more and stronger NPC allies this time around.

Ministry - The ministry mages are a particular headache, featuring plenty of AoE nukes to spike your party. The Ministry Mage has a pick between using Invoke Lightning and Spirit Rift, Sandstorm, and PBAoE Starburst nuker. The Elite Ministry Mage runs Breath of Fire and Searing Flames. The Ministry Monks feature solid builds that make them some of the more resilient healers in the game. They also have the all so loveable Ray of Judgment Monk. The Ministry Rangers use Splinter Barrage and are capable of bringing your party down to half in a single attack. Along with balanced builds for the the rest of enemy groups, ministry aren't pushovers, especially when you get to Hard mode.

Am Fah - Am Fah only pop up during Raid on Kaineng Center and There Goes the Neighborhood primary quests while you get to battle Am Fah groups in Redemption for the Lost and Vassal States. The Am Fah Elementalists in particular have Savannah Heat an Teinai's Heat, which can wipe unsuspecting groups. Am Fah Warriors love to jump behind your group with Death's Charge. Their groups are around the same level as Ministry groups in difficulty.

Jade Brotherhood - You see the Jade Brotherhood during There Goes the Neighborhood and Vassal States. Similar to both Ministry and Am Fah groups, they have an Elementalist with Sandstorm, Eruption, and Churning Earth. Like the Am Fah Warriors, the Assassins have Death's Charge to jump behind your group. These groups can be a pain.

Sensali Tengu - You have a final showdown with them in Raid on Shing Jea Monastery. Compared to the previous quests, the Tengu are pushovers here. There are few if any healers and most groups consist of melee and a couple casters. The only threats are Panic on the Mesmers and Sandstorm from the Elementalists. Even then, the Warriors drop quickly since they use Primal Rage.

Setup:
One thing you will notice for part 3 is that a Soul Twisting Ritualist isn't particularly useful. In most areas, you have NPC allies that will trigger spirits constantly. Most enemies hit under Shelter and you don't face many AoE attacks beyond Rodgort's Invocation in Raid on Kaineng Center or a Starburst Elementalist. Minion Masters are great here because most of the quests involve defending a point and enemies are quite slow at killing minions. There are plenty of corpses available from both the large number of enemies as well as NPC allies. An MM also deprives Ministry Purgers of corpses. I found using spiritway to provide fodder for DoT skills and delay enemy groups as an effective strategy to simplify combat. Anything else you used in previous WoC content stays the same here. Panic is a mainstay as always. You will want enchantment removal against Monks because many use prots such as Spirit Bond and Shield of Absorption.

Primary Quests:Finding Jinnai Calling All Thugs Raid on Kaineng Center There Goes the Neighborhood Ministry of Oppression Raid on Shing Jea Monastery The Final Confrontation Note: You must be in Hard mode for Miku to appear outside Tahnnaki Temple so you can obtain or continue Hard mode quests. If she isn't spawning, make sure you're in the appropriate mode.

Optional Quests:Redemption for the Lost Vassal States Finding JinnaiNormal mode - After entering Altrumm Ruins, head over to Jinnai to initiate conversation. After a short while, a group of ministry NPCs will arrive and turn aggressive. They won't be difficult to kill. Enemies in this map seem to have compass range aggro and hone in on you. There are two waves that come from each side at set intervals. Don't bother waiting to get ganked from both sides, run clockwise or counterclockwise and take out groups at your own pace. They shouldn't be too much of a threat compared to what you've fought up until now. It's advisable to head either west up the stairs or up the center since the portal to the right won't bring Miku or Jinnai.

Hard mode - Players will soon find this is one of the more painful quests. Because enemy groups take longer to kill, your group may find itself quickly sandwiched between two groups. This is an area I suggest using an ST Ritualist because MMs can cause enemy groups to ball together and hit your group all at once. Wait at the stairs and bushes just north of Jinnai leading into the water. Jinnai won't move away before the Ministry turns aggressive, so quickly kill the group. Head north and follow the right wall until you see stairs. These stairs lead up to a graveyard that serves as a chokepoint for enemy groups. The only path they have to you is up the stairs and there is plenty of room to maneuver in the graveyard if needed. You don't have to move to this point immediately, as the first few groups will approach from the south. A couple will start coming from the northwest later on. Use the corners leading up to the stairs and the stairs themselves to serve as chokepoints for melee and casters. Melee go down pretty fast, so kill them before they can harass your backline.Calling All ThugsNormal mode - This is a solo quest and quickly becomes one of the more annoying ones. You will need an IMS such as Dash or Drunken Master. When you enter the map, you are randomly assigned a disguise for one of the five thug groups. You must give three correct answers in total and avoid talking to the group of your disguise. The placement of the answer bubbles are also random at each instance. The answer for each group are as follows:Peacekeepers - Boris the Great: "We should save our strength for our real enemies!" Corsairs - Lieutenant Naeem: "Just one more scurvy scallyway I'm going to have to share my booty with, from the looks of it! This better be as big as they claim!" White Mantle - Abbot Bryon: "Unfortunately for them, they stand between us and destiny!" Crimson Skull - Lieutenant Kao Li: "Aye! And when we're done I'll raise the Crimson Skull flag so high you'll be able to see it for miles around Kaineng Center!" Stone Summit - Graun Stonefury: "Things will surely improve for all of us once we're successful!" When the meeting starts, you cannot move out of range of the NPCs or you will fail the quest. In general, stay within spirit range of Reisen the Phoenix. You can leave once your player says the line "What, no, I'm not an imposter." Simply follow the corridor back from where you came. Once the quest updates, you can travel to Kaineng City.

Hard mode - This is identical to the Normal mode version except enemies run faster. Dash or Drunken Master are sufficient to escape.
Raid on Kaineng CenterNormal mode - This is yet another "defend the gate" quest. Bring you MM and spiritway here, because you will need them. Players will find the problem is there is no chokepoint and groups attack from two completely different directions. At the start, enemies will come through main gate, but will later start coming through the dock gate from the west. You get 8 Warrior and 4 Ranger NPCs to move and place. While they tend to be pretty resilient, the NPCs love balling on AoE. Thee allies will resurrect once there are no enemies in range. Start by grabbing all your NPC allies and wait at the top of the stairs at the main gate. This is where you will fight the first few waves of enemies. Eventually, the dock gate will go down. At this point station around 4-5 NPC allies at the top of the west flight of stairs and your MM behind them. This will give you plenty of time to take out the waves from the main gate before killing the groups from the dock side. The waves alternate on the time they arrive at the palace gate, so run back and forth killing each group. After a few waves, Reisen the Phoenix will approach from the dock gate and Apep, Unending Night from the main gate. Beware of Reisen's Spirit Rift and Teinai's Heat as this will quickly wipe your group.

Hard mode - Use the same strategy as NM, except spread your NPCs out on the dock gate side and micro spirits while you wait for your wave from the main gate. If enemies are rushing too fast from the dock gate, simply pull back from the main gate. The spirits and NPCs will delay advances while you take care of the dock gate. Melee have a tendency to rush the Palace Gate, so Ineptitude or Blinding Surge are very handy to have. Keep heroes spread out and retreat back if a side starts collapsing. If you wipe, you will generally have enough time to save yourself before mobs get to the Palace Gate. Beware of the final wave with Reisen the Phoenix, his Spirit Rift and Teinai's Heat will literally one-shot your entire party. There will be trial and error, so expect to fail once or twice before getting comfortable.
There Goes the NeighborhoodNormal mode - In this quest, you will be saving groups of Canthan citizens. The quest is pretty forgiving, allowing you to get 3 groups killed before you fail the quest. It's unlikely you will fail this even on your first try. Enemy groups turn hostile around spirit range, so "Fall Back!" will help get to groups faster. Forgot the MM, you will be running around too much. An ST Ritualist will help keep the NPCs alive. Target the Elementalist and Monks first, then the melee, then the rest of the enemies. Melee actually do the most damage, so you may wish to target them first. Enemies typically stay balled, so Panic will prevent a lot of the damage.

Hard mode - Being Hard mode and all, your Canthan allies die much faster. Even if you kill the enemies quickly, the melee can kill all the Canthans. Displacement, Union, and antimelee will help with this. It can be difficult to save some groups given that they could be dead before you even reach them. Losing three groups is still very forgiving however, so as long as you take down groups quickly and kill enemies attacking the NPCs, you should be fine.
Ministry of OppressionNormal mode - Bring "Incoming!", "Fall Back!", and/or "Charge!" for running. Then run to the end. That's it.

Hard mode - Bring "Incoming!", "Fall Back!", and/or "Charge!" for running. Then run to the end. That's it.
Raid on Shing Jea MonasteryNormal mode - Similar to Raid on Kaineng City, you will face waves of Tengu. You will want a Minion Master here. Fortunately, they seem to have forgotten about healers, as most waves will consist of a few a melee and one or two casters. You can ignore melee for the most part, prioritize taking out the Mesmers and Elementalists first. Minions and spirits can keep the Sensali occupied for quite a long time. You can grab Improvised Fire Bombs from Apprentice Zhi and drop the bundles on the ground in between waves. You can use these in quick succession to wipe out groups. I would suggest sticking 6 or so NPC allies on the stairs of the west entrance and then wait in the central area. At the start, enemies will come from the southern gate, but will eventually come from the west and southwest. If you stand in the central area you can grab the southwest groups, otherwise they will head up the west entrance. Once the western groups start encroaching on the west side, simply disengage from the groups you're fighting if you haven't killed them already.

Hard mode - With the large number of corpses available, running two MMs is an excellent idea. One can be used to guard the west entrance while you fight in the central area. Try to not push to far up and stay near the stairs so you can recover easily. Remember you have healers and the Sensali don't. Bringing Recuperation and Life will work great here to help the NPC allies. Prioritize Mesmers so your party doesn't get hit with Panic. Always keep an eye on the west gate and fall back once you see it collapsing. The Sensali have a tendency to ball up on the stairs here, so take advantage with the Improvised Fire Bombs nearby. You can then head back and finish off the groups in the central area.
The Final ConfrontationNormal mode - The final battle with Reiko is an exciting one. She uses Mirror Echo, which create multiple copies of herself, skills and all. Mirror of Darkness creates a copy of a party member including PvE skills. Getting hit with "You Move Like a Dwarf!" or Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support can be amusing. The fight is similar to Poe fights in Ocarina of Time and similar where you must correctly identify and attack the real Reiko. A purple bar will decrement as you damage her. Ministry will start spawning in front of the gate where Ashu is when the bar is around 50%. The lower the bar is, the more copies that will spawn. this becomes an issue at later stages. The general strategy is to spread out along the riverbed in an arc and plink away at her.

Don't be afraid to bring plenty of heals, damage isn't that important as your allies will do much of the work for you. Using spiritway is suggested here. There aren't many corpses available, so avoid using an MM. Because of Mirror of Darkness, avoid bringing Panic and DoT AoE skills. At one point, her and her spawns will use Chaos Storm, which can be devastating to your party. You can avoid this by using martial weapons and unequipping heroes although Reiko can still use it on NPC allies next to your allies. Ebon Battle Standard of Honor can dramatically increase the damage of allies as many them are melee. Remember that Miku will use Mark of Death on the real Reiko and watch for any copy that NPC allies start training on. Upon completion of the quest, Miku will become available as a hero.

Hard mode - The main issue in HM is the fact that around 7-8 copies start spawning at later stages, notably the stage where she has Power Block and Chaos Storm. Energy Burn and Mistrust also become very painful. This can leave your party overextended only to get rushed by Ministry spawns, forcing a wipe. The key is to focus most of your effort on healing and continuous damage. This means avoiding builds with hexes or long recharges; some examples include Ineptitude Mesmers, Discordway, and Elementalists. Someone with UA is handy for any random deaths. Stick in those spirits, pets, and melee heroes. Casters, feel free to run daggers and Strength of Honor. Prioritize any Phantasms and Ministry spawns before beating on Reiko. If done correctly, she should go down in 5-7 minutes. Upon completion of the quest, Zei Ri will become available as a hero.
Redemption for the LostNormal mode - Use the map on Guildwarswiki if you're having trouble finding the NPCs. You will join Zenmai in an attempt to save Am Fah from the wrath of the ministry. This means kill a bunch of groups, talk to and defeat a NPC as well as any spawns, and head to next point. The Am Fah groups shouldn't be too much trouble just be wary of spawning groups. When you reach Min, a bunch of Ministry will ambush you. Don't worry too much about it, some Am Fah will drop in and distract the Ministry while you kill them.

Hard mode - The locations of the NPCs change in Hard mode, so again, use Guildwarswiki if you have trouble finding them. Battles are a little rougher in Hard mode, take out Elementalists first before focusing your attention on healers. Enchantment removal is very useful here. Chow Zhong can really hurt with Starburst, keep your party back to avoid getting spiked by him and the spawns. The final battle takes place in a much larger area and you face three large groups of Ministry. The Am Fah will again serve as a distraction, just be ready to retreat back from the entrance and up the hill when you come under pressure.
Vassal StatesNormal mode - Use the paths indicated on Guildwarswiki. Enter from Raisu Palace instead of walking from Kaineng City, it's faster. Talk to both NPCs and head to the Jade Sea. Turn of the Afflicted quest so Afflicted groups don't spawn unnecessarily. Follow the point indicated and kill the groups. They are stationary mobs, so it's not hard to spike them all done in one go. Repeat for the Kurzick side.

Hard mode - Use the paths indicated on Guildwarswiki. There are additional groups to kill and more walking to be done in the HM quests. These groups often fight with other enemies, as you will probably see on the last group of Am Fah in the Jade Sea. After killing the northwest mob on the Kurzick side, you can save time by wiping and heading to the next point from there. Be careful not to get ganked by Warden groups.

Great guide. I may be the only one left to begin WoC, so I shall refer here when I hit part 3

Really great guide don't suppose we could get a guide for part1 and part2

This is gunna help me a lot for when I do HM WoC

Thank you!

great guide! very detailed and well put together. I'm getting ready to start part 3 today, so you made it just in time

thanks a ton!

In my experience with Raid on Kaineng Center (granted, I've only taken 3 characters through HM), the Front Gate group is always staggered a little bit behind the Dock Gate group, taking a few extra seconds to reach the Palace Gate. This would make putting your NPC's at the Front Gate more advantageous, buying you more time to kill the Dock Gate group before the Front Gate group finally arrives.

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