Slow going after reaching Yaks Bend

Maybe its because i prefer to play solo with henchies, but it seems the game really slows down when you reach yaks bend. I've been playing 2 seperate characters, a n/e and w/m both at lvl 14. They are both at yaks bend, but its virtually impossible at this point to finish any quests. The chars just aren't strong enough.

I don't play the game religously like a lot of ppl, about 2-4 hours a week. That is one of the reasons i play solo, the other being that there are a lot of moronic ppl that play and it takes some time just to find a teammate that is worth the time.

Should i expect the game to remain this slow paced until the end? I've got decent armor and weapons, but it takes 5 henchies to help me kill 4 or 5 stonemen at a time. At this point, clearing the peak is not even possible.

Well generally it isn't going to get any easier. But there's one quest in Yak's Bend that puts a crapload of enemies in the area between Yak's and Borlis Pass. I think it might be "The Way is Blocked" but I'm not quite sure if I remember correctly. Anyway, after you finish (or abandon) that quest, manouvering in that area should be a little less tedious.

You also may want to rethink your skills and henchmen choices. Fire is very effective on the Shiverpeaks, but on the other hand Orion sucks and his firestorm can draw unwanted aggro. Another thing to consider is to find one or two human players and fill the remaining spots with henchies. I've often found that 2-3 human players can be more efficient than 8, and it's also quicker to form a party.

Good luck.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Thats the quest i was talking about, that and the one wher eyou have to kill the stonemen at each checkpoint. The tough part is in the valley where there are lots of the stonemen and a few ice trolls or golems, don't remember exactly their name. I'll just have to pick up a few human players and get past this area i guess. Gives me a reason to play a few extra hours this weekend

Personaly i would rather go with real people then hench. Like you from the start i really only used henchies. I found out later on playing this game is way better with real people. Its nice having someone you can share your experience with and talk to. It gets really lonely out there with no one to talk to. I have met alot of people while playing this game and most are nice. Plus the henchies just plain suck sometimes and i would rather have a real person, no matter how bad the real player is. Somtimes they are there for a good laugh.=)

Yaks is kind of a slow area but i never really noticed a slow point in the game after going through it 4 times. I think if you know where you are going and what to do its pretty fast paced. I know if you try and do every quest it can get boring. I tried this with my first character and it really slows the game down. In my experience it doesnt take that long to find people wanting to go do the same thing you are so there is no excuse. My advise focus on the missions and only do quests you really need to for skills.

Actually I think that was one of those quests where I just bit the bullet and slowly worked through, getting a lot of death penalty in the process. Some of the groups are kinda big to handle on one go, at least for most teams.

You don't have to do all the quests at Yaks just the skill quests and get to Borlis Pass and do the mission as that will take you to the I won't spoil it for you.You are high enough to go to Lions Arch by now.You don't even need the missions to get there as you can walk it and it is fun.

I find once you leave ascalon, you need atleast one other person.

at least one henchie

i think the key here is to find a few good friends who play and play with them over playing with henchies they are ok to start but get useless the further in the game you get..... thats what i did and has been a great fun playing with a few friends atleast they will talk to you

I solo'd with henchies through most of the game. What I did was try a quest or mission with xyz henchies. I would expect some deaths as the henchies at least I find) are pretty useless in most cases. On a failed or hopeless case I would return to town, rethink my skills and try a new conbination of henchies. Eventually I would either work my way through or I would find a way past it and come back later.
There are a few quests I had to have actual people help with - Villany of Galrath comes to mind but you're not there yet. Some quests I just couldn't do but came back later with a new skill or two and finished it without a thought.
I would suggest trying several times then either asking for help (though I am impatient and ask once or twice then move on to something else) or come back to it later. If it's a mission your stuck on, skip the bonus part of it till later and just do the mission.

War Hound also has a good point, sometimes finding a few good friends is also great. I have met many people that are wonderful fun and don't throw tantrums when they die. I have, and milage may vary, noticed that the further into the game you are able to go, the more mature the players tend to be... but also, the more snobish some tend to be if you don't fit the cookie-cutter builds. So, yea, good friends would be a good idea, even if it's a friend or two and the rest henchies. You'll tell a HUGE difference with real players.