Specifically, in Hell's Precipe
I've done the Hell's Precipe in NM HH with all my 10 characters with no major problems, besides the Sparks being a nuissance already then.
In HM I managed to succeed only once, with luck I'm sure, with my mesmer, using secondary Rit SoS skills.
My team setup was:
2 rangers (using flatbows w winter, BHA, epidemic + interrupts)
3 monks (2 healers and 1 prot, set passive)
1 water ele (w ward against harm, maelstrom, blurred vision, frigid armor)
1 warrior as a tank (w frigid armor)
Thing is, with my necro (also SoS secondary) and same setup I can't even get to the Seer.
Every time it's the Sparks that get me, and mind you only and just 3 at a time.
I tried pulling and seeking shelter behind rocks and pop up when I thought the Sparks would be recharging their deadly spells. Nope, they wiped me clean.
I can handle the Burning Titans and subsequent Risen Ashen Hulks and Hand and Fists, so all I focus on are the Sparks.
So my question is, how do I approach them?
Head on? Or via micro-managing my rangers?
I tried to do that, but its total chaos, with Burning Titans and Risen Ashen Hulks in between.
Is my approach too timid, too fearful and should I be more, much more aggressive and fearless? LOL
Ofcourse I could use a mesmer hero to add to interrupting, but still the overall problem remains the same.
I'd appreciate any tip that can take away my frustration in dealing with these little but deadly foes.
How to approach Sparks of the Titans in HM
ArsNova
Not New
bring 1 hero with winter not 2
bring 2 monks not 3
keep water ele
tank is ok ( not needed)
I think your problem is not nearly enough damage....they eventually beat you cause of this fact.
Pull titans 1 a a time.. kill them.. kill pops from them... move to next titan...Target Sparks first if they are hitting your group...PI (pain inverter) is best
bring 2 monks not 3
keep water ele
tank is ok ( not needed)
I think your problem is not nearly enough damage....they eventually beat you cause of this fact.
Pull titans 1 a a time.. kill them.. kill pops from them... move to next titan...Target Sparks first if they are hitting your group...PI (pain inverter) is best
Showtime
ST Rit and 1 Healer for prots and healing. Remove a ranger. Then add 1 or 2 mesmers or SOS rit, etc.
Chthon
I would suggest ST-Shelter rit and a Panic mesmer.
Spiritz
If you have eotn - pain invertor is a must and the most important bit of info as suggested already is pulling but dont forget to space everyone out before pulling.Especially when you lay spirits because if they die too quick your dps will drop fast and usually sparks will then move onto the party.
aspi
I always thought of it as weird. The titans pose no threat what so ever. Yet those little minions of them are capable of destroying an entire party. Maybe the Lich should have focessed more on them 
Not really like the elite but panic seems to shut them down pretty good.
Not really like the elite but panic seems to shut them down pretty good.
Xenomortis
Flag your heroes out and if you still die, then use a bow to pull them to you after doing that.
It doesn't matter what you run then; they're not strong enough for you to worry too much.
It doesn't matter what you run then; they're not strong enough for you to worry too much.
Chris Le Noir
Kill sparks first always, cuz of their aoe. As for hero setup, one powerblock mesmer should be enough to keep their damage in check. A prot monkey with prot spirit, rof and or lifesheath (E) works wonders to keep you alive.
Just stick to 2 monks, the powerblock mes and fill the rest with whatever damage you prefer. Winter is not required, but a fire ele might not be the best choise of damage here.
Remember to bring enough hex removal to keep your frontliners clean from shadow of fear, bring shatter hex on the mes if needed.
Just stick to 2 monks, the powerblock mes and fill the rest with whatever damage you prefer. Winter is not required, but a fire ele might not be the best choise of damage here.
Remember to bring enough hex removal to keep your frontliners clean from shadow of fear, bring shatter hex on the mes if needed.
KotCR
The easiest solution would be to adjust your hero set-up, as others have set. A Soul Twisting Shelter Ritualist makes a huge difference and would make them become very easy to handle.
However, it's true that your current set-up should work, with a few changes.
- Swap the Flatbows on the Rangers for Recurve Bows. Flatbows are horrible for pretty much anything except pulling due to their very large fire-arc - they will generally miss their target. In contrast, Recurve Bows are the best bow for interrupts as they have a fast flight time and low fire arc, which will make triggering the daze affect after hitting with BHA alot more dependable.
- You didn't state it so I'll mention it just incase. Make sure your Monks are running some party-heal skills. Divine Healing/Heaven's Delight are the best (and on Divine Favour so usuable by all Monks), Healing Burst (Elite, Heaing Prayers) is also great.
Then it comes to just executing your strategies right.
-Set the Rangers to Aggressive, and lock each on a different Spark of the Titans, most likely the two furthest back. Make sure at this point there is sufficient enough space between you and the enemy mobs that the Rangers don't try to run off and attack them straight away.
-Disable Ward Against Harm; Manually trigger it once your team is in position (else the Hero may cast it in an area you won't be standing). Rangers have really high armour against Elemental Damage anyway, so their survival won't be crucially reliant on remaining in the WAH.
-Activate his Frigid Armour, and then use Protective Spirit+Shield of Absorption on your Warrior (plus any other Prots you might have like Shielding Hands) , then send him in alone.
-Once the enemies have wasted their initial opening burst on your protted Warrior, charge in after him (and unflag the Warrior so he can begin smacking stuff), calling your target as the one Spark of the Titans you didn't lock the Rangers onto. The Rangers should run up and automatically start harrassing their locked targets (though just to be sure you might want to manually click BHA on each, to ensure they use it first).
-Once your heroes have settled into range and begun attacking, activate Ward Against Harm on your Ele to protect your squishies from further damage.
-Kill the called Spark, then move onto the ones the Rangers are locking down (remembering to call), until the Sparks are all dead.
-You should be able to easily handle it yourself from there, as you've described.
However, it's true that your current set-up should work, with a few changes.
- Swap the Flatbows on the Rangers for Recurve Bows. Flatbows are horrible for pretty much anything except pulling due to their very large fire-arc - they will generally miss their target. In contrast, Recurve Bows are the best bow for interrupts as they have a fast flight time and low fire arc, which will make triggering the daze affect after hitting with BHA alot more dependable.
- You didn't state it so I'll mention it just incase. Make sure your Monks are running some party-heal skills. Divine Healing/Heaven's Delight are the best (and on Divine Favour so usuable by all Monks), Healing Burst (Elite, Heaing Prayers) is also great.
Then it comes to just executing your strategies right.
-Set the Rangers to Aggressive, and lock each on a different Spark of the Titans, most likely the two furthest back. Make sure at this point there is sufficient enough space between you and the enemy mobs that the Rangers don't try to run off and attack them straight away.
-Disable Ward Against Harm; Manually trigger it once your team is in position (else the Hero may cast it in an area you won't be standing). Rangers have really high armour against Elemental Damage anyway, so their survival won't be crucially reliant on remaining in the WAH.
-Activate his Frigid Armour, and then use Protective Spirit+Shield of Absorption on your Warrior (plus any other Prots you might have like Shielding Hands) , then send him in alone.
-Once the enemies have wasted their initial opening burst on your protted Warrior, charge in after him (and unflag the Warrior so he can begin smacking stuff), calling your target as the one Spark of the Titans you didn't lock the Rangers onto. The Rangers should run up and automatically start harrassing their locked targets (though just to be sure you might want to manually click BHA on each, to ensure they use it first).
-Once your heroes have settled into range and begun attacking, activate Ward Against Harm on your Ele to protect your squishies from further damage.
-Kill the called Spark, then move onto the ones the Rangers are locking down (remembering to call), until the Sparks are all dead.
-You should be able to easily handle it yourself from there, as you've described.
Dar Drakor
Your hero mix and builds? Not a fan.
I'm not by any means a fanatic about maximizing to death builds but it doesn't seem like you have enough fire power (direct or indirect) to take down foes quickly enough before they flatten you (pardon the term).
Your hero/build mix is too passive more than anything else IMO. Looks like you're trying your best to interrupt and outlast them (2 BHA's and an Ele with Ward against harm and Maelstrom)? Problem is they do more damage than you do and your 2 BHA's are likely wasting their shots on the same target (you're calling targets right and not targetting each ranger on a different spark are you?)...not to mention you likely to have to be micro managing the Ele to cast Maelstrom (which in and of itself is not the best spell to use to try to interrupt opposing casters that tend to move around...which sparks do quite a bit).
Honestly, I've never used even 1 Ranger hero much less 2 in one party. So drop one ranger (at least) and replace him with a mesmer (better at interrupting multiple targets) with Panic or Psychic Instability (you can find builds based on these elites in pvx). I normally run 2 mesmers, one with Panic and the other with PI (or Ineptitude) and I can usually shut down most groups pretty easily for my minion bombs and spirits to blow away. So if you have the heroes and the skills, replace the two rangers with two mesmers.
3 monks is also extremely excessive (another sign that you're just being too too passive here). I usually only have 1 monk even in HM. You can have a second monk with UA but I usually find that unnecessary if you know how to play. In any case if you MM or minion bomb your necro you'd want your monk to have Dwayna's Sorrow in your monks skill bar as it works wonders with minions (especially minion bombs). But you really don't need 3 dedicated monks. I usually have one monk (LoD, DS, UA, etc.) and a Necro healer with either Icy Veins, Xinraes, Spirit Light Weapon or somtimes BiP. If you feel you need protection you can always add a protective spirit, aegis and/or shield of absorption on your MM and not have to worry.
As far as your "tank" goes? What skills does he have? Best against sparks probably would be Earthshaker IMO since the knockdowns could take them out of the fight for long enough for you to pummel them before they get a chance to do anything. But honestly, not really necessary either (unless I'm on a melee character myself, I don't normally have any melee heroes in my party at all).
And if you are going to take an Ele, bring heavy damage (tis what they do best). Problem is the traditional heavy AoE damage for Eles come from Fire which titans are extremely resistant to. So I would suggest dumping the Ele and replacing it with a Rit for this mission.
To which...not sure but are you saying that you're a Necro running SoS build (and/or a Mes running an SoS build)? While SoS is fine, you really shouldn't be running SoS on either and instead should focus on something like a minion bomber for your necro char or a Panic on your Mes.
When I play my nec or mes this is what I usually have as far as party composition. Rarely have problem with any (none elite) HM mission or area:
1. You - minion bomber (heavy damage from the titans will actually trigger your m bombs much more rapidly causing more damage to them and everyone around them).
2. SoS Rit
3. SoGM Rit
4. Panic Mes
5. PI Mes
6. Monk Healer
7. SS Nec
8. Nec Healer
1. You - Panic (if you are looking to try to shutdown clumps of casters, this is probably the best skill to have).
2. SoS Rit
3. Nec MM
4. SoGM Rit
5. PI Mes
6. Monk Healer
7. SS Nec
8. Nec Healer
And just in case, you are flagging your party so they aren't all clustered together right? If you feel the need to carry 3 monks I'm thinking you may not be flagging them apart so they dont' all get hit by the sparks fire spells.
And the order which you have your party setup matters in that you want your heroes that can create mobs (minions or spirits) to be able to be flagged separate from everyone else to avoid overtaxing your healers by drawing unwanted AoE attention on everyone. That's why I have the Rits and the MM always in one of the 1st 3 hero slots since you can flag them apart from the last 4 heroes. You'll end up with 5 separate groups (you, hero 1, hero 2, hero 3 and the remaining 4 heroes) which will help lesson the pressure on healers and avoid AoE wiping your entire party out.
Heavy condition removal would be great when going up against the sparks but i usually don't have any problems with any of the builds above.
One last thing...since you mention dying before getting to the Seer. You aren't running into and attacking that large mob that clusters right before going over the rise to get to the Seer are you?
I'm not by any means a fanatic about maximizing to death builds but it doesn't seem like you have enough fire power (direct or indirect) to take down foes quickly enough before they flatten you (pardon the term).
Your hero/build mix is too passive more than anything else IMO. Looks like you're trying your best to interrupt and outlast them (2 BHA's and an Ele with Ward against harm and Maelstrom)? Problem is they do more damage than you do and your 2 BHA's are likely wasting their shots on the same target (you're calling targets right and not targetting each ranger on a different spark are you?)...not to mention you likely to have to be micro managing the Ele to cast Maelstrom (which in and of itself is not the best spell to use to try to interrupt opposing casters that tend to move around...which sparks do quite a bit).
Honestly, I've never used even 1 Ranger hero much less 2 in one party. So drop one ranger (at least) and replace him with a mesmer (better at interrupting multiple targets) with Panic or Psychic Instability (you can find builds based on these elites in pvx). I normally run 2 mesmers, one with Panic and the other with PI (or Ineptitude) and I can usually shut down most groups pretty easily for my minion bombs and spirits to blow away. So if you have the heroes and the skills, replace the two rangers with two mesmers.
3 monks is also extremely excessive (another sign that you're just being too too passive here). I usually only have 1 monk even in HM. You can have a second monk with UA but I usually find that unnecessary if you know how to play. In any case if you MM or minion bomb your necro you'd want your monk to have Dwayna's Sorrow in your monks skill bar as it works wonders with minions (especially minion bombs). But you really don't need 3 dedicated monks. I usually have one monk (LoD, DS, UA, etc.) and a Necro healer with either Icy Veins, Xinraes, Spirit Light Weapon or somtimes BiP. If you feel you need protection you can always add a protective spirit, aegis and/or shield of absorption on your MM and not have to worry.
As far as your "tank" goes? What skills does he have? Best against sparks probably would be Earthshaker IMO since the knockdowns could take them out of the fight for long enough for you to pummel them before they get a chance to do anything. But honestly, not really necessary either (unless I'm on a melee character myself, I don't normally have any melee heroes in my party at all).
And if you are going to take an Ele, bring heavy damage (tis what they do best). Problem is the traditional heavy AoE damage for Eles come from Fire which titans are extremely resistant to. So I would suggest dumping the Ele and replacing it with a Rit for this mission.
To which...not sure but are you saying that you're a Necro running SoS build (and/or a Mes running an SoS build)? While SoS is fine, you really shouldn't be running SoS on either and instead should focus on something like a minion bomber for your necro char or a Panic on your Mes.
When I play my nec or mes this is what I usually have as far as party composition. Rarely have problem with any (none elite) HM mission or area:
1. You - minion bomber (heavy damage from the titans will actually trigger your m bombs much more rapidly causing more damage to them and everyone around them).
2. SoS Rit
3. SoGM Rit
4. Panic Mes
5. PI Mes
6. Monk Healer
7. SS Nec
8. Nec Healer
1. You - Panic (if you are looking to try to shutdown clumps of casters, this is probably the best skill to have).
2. SoS Rit
3. Nec MM
4. SoGM Rit
5. PI Mes
6. Monk Healer
7. SS Nec
8. Nec Healer
And just in case, you are flagging your party so they aren't all clustered together right? If you feel the need to carry 3 monks I'm thinking you may not be flagging them apart so they dont' all get hit by the sparks fire spells.
And the order which you have your party setup matters in that you want your heroes that can create mobs (minions or spirits) to be able to be flagged separate from everyone else to avoid overtaxing your healers by drawing unwanted AoE attention on everyone. That's why I have the Rits and the MM always in one of the 1st 3 hero slots since you can flag them apart from the last 4 heroes. You'll end up with 5 separate groups (you, hero 1, hero 2, hero 3 and the remaining 4 heroes) which will help lesson the pressure on healers and avoid AoE wiping your entire party out.
Heavy condition removal would be great when going up against the sparks but i usually don't have any problems with any of the builds above.
One last thing...since you mention dying before getting to the Seer. You aren't running into and attacking that large mob that clusters right before going over the rise to get to the Seer are you?
ArsNova
Thank you very much for all the input.
I surely will look carefully into every piece of advice, especially regarding which heroes and skills to use against this kind of opponents. This helps a lot to broaden my knowledge and understanding of the game.
Never used the Soul Twisting skill for instance, so I'm looking forward to try it out.
I particularly appreciate KotCR's detailed answer to my main question.
Only recently I started to micromanage heroes cuz I took it for granted and was actually just hoping my heroes would do the right. I have to learn to pay attention to this kind of detail.
I have to soak it all up and I gladly will, feeling confident already.
Again, thank you guys!
PS, to answer Dar Drakor's last question. No I didn't run into and attack that large mob. I pulled them away from the Seer, so that that Burning Titan next to the Seer wouldn't be alerted and start attacking and killing him.
I know I shouldn't turn my mesmer and necro into rits, instead I should focus more on what they can do best. Therefore your build suggestions will be a great help. Thank you.
I surely will look carefully into every piece of advice, especially regarding which heroes and skills to use against this kind of opponents. This helps a lot to broaden my knowledge and understanding of the game.
Never used the Soul Twisting skill for instance, so I'm looking forward to try it out.
I particularly appreciate KotCR's detailed answer to my main question.
Only recently I started to micromanage heroes cuz I took it for granted and was actually just hoping my heroes would do the right. I have to learn to pay attention to this kind of detail.
I have to soak it all up and I gladly will, feeling confident already.
Again, thank you guys!
PS, to answer Dar Drakor's last question. No I didn't run into and attack that large mob. I pulled them away from the Seer, so that that Burning Titan next to the Seer wouldn't be alerted and start attacking and killing him.
I know I shouldn't turn my mesmer and necro into rits, instead I should focus more on what they can do best. Therefore your build suggestions will be a great help. Thank you.