Entire Game Solo With Henchies

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G
Ginny
Ascalonian Squire
#1
I am quite curious: I was listening to a conversation today and someone said that they had played the entire game through by soloing with henchies. That means every single quest and mission with only henchman.

1. Is that really possible? I mean, I can think of some REALLY hard quests and missions where this sounds preposterous

2. If so, which classes would be BEST suited?
chaos dragoon
chaos dragoon
Krytan Explorer
#2
to answer the question,no. there are probably more but this is a quest i know off my head that henchies cant do. high priest alkar. you need to split your group which cant be done with henchmen. one to get crystals, one to defend the high priest. at least i heard it cant be done with henchmen. if anyone has done it with hench only, feel free to prove me wrong.
F
Fyre Brand
Krytan Explorer
#3
Yes, this is definitely possible. There are some really hard missions and quests that require you to change your secondary or think way outside the box on your build.

As far as what class is best, well that would be the class you are most comfortable with. Knowing which henchies for different times is important. Sometimes you only want to bring 1 fighter type so Lina and Alesia/Mhenlo can focus healing on them, or you might want both for other times. Getting to know henchie AI is pretty crucial. You need to learn how to use them to aggro, how to pull them back, etc. It takes a little bit of getting used to.

I did this with my ranger with monk as a secondary until the desert. I used almost only monk skills for doing Thunderhead. After that I used mainly mesmer secondary for fire island missions.

It's fun to do this once, but now I have a lot more fun with Guildies. It's a lot harder to do than with guildies, but almost always easier to do it with henchies than with random pick up groups. Good luck.

PS: Denravi isn't as hard as it sounds. It is like the desert missions (only a lot easier) in that it just takes good timing and rhythm. T-Head can actually be one of the harder ones to do with the henchies because the last Mursaat swarm from both gates can just be a hell of an obstacle to negotiate.
VGJustice
VGJustice
Desert Nomad
#4
on Aurora Glade, I remember seeing a post in the Strategy section about that being possible with henchies. I'd say, if you can do it, awesome, take pictures. If not, it's freakin' hard, so try harder >:D
mikysee
mikysee
Ascalonian Squire
#5
Quote:
Originally Posted by chaos dragoon
to answer the question,no. there are probably more but this is a quest i know off my head that henchies cant do. high priest alkar. you need to split your group which cant be done with henchmen. one to get crystals, one to defend the high priest. at least i heard it cant be done with henchmen. if anyone has done it with hench only, feel free to prove me wrong.
I tried doing this yesterday. I was able to get the 3rd crystal but the guy died as I was running back. I think it could be possible if I had run back earlier without the crystal, kill the patrol then go back for the 3rd one. Im not sure about the 4th one though.
F
Fyre Brand
Krytan Explorer
#6
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikysee
I tried doing this yesterday. I was able to get the 3rd crystal but the guy died as I was running back. I think it could be possible if I had run back earlier without the crystal, kill the patrol then go back for the 3rd one. Im not sure about the 4th one though.
Unless you're really clever about killing all the White Mantle, you won't win that way. The trick is to always keep at least one (two is better) pedestal attuned. You don't have to kill any White Mantle unless you've opted for the bonus. If you've opted for the bonus + mission at the same time you will have to keep pedestals attuned while killing off the White Mantle.

Here are some missions that can be a bit trickier with only henchies:
1. Sanctum Cay - build your skill set and party for the last rush

2. Elona's Reach - there is a best path and rhythm to this mission. doing the bonus as you go helps overall as the priests help kill and provide an aggro target.

3. Thirsty River - need to learn when to time the assault, when to pull back, and when to attack the priest as opposed to the other mops.

4. Thunderhead Keep - Kill rate and choosing which mops to kill first is key. Build to keep the King alive, but also to deliver good damage to the Mursaat. Hex removal is really nice if you're a caster.

5. I think it's called Abbadon's Mouth (the one where Khilibron buffs you and you have to breach the keeps gate) - The gate and the dual Mursaat boss at the second gate can go really wrong if you don't learn how to maneuver the henchies and also how and when to pull them back. These are all still easier with henchies than with uncooperative PUGs.
lord_shar
lord_shar
Furnace Stoker
#7
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fyre Brand
Unless you're really clever about killing all the White Mantle, you won't win that way. The trick is to always keep at least one (two is better) pedestal attuned. You don't have to kill any White Mantle unless you've opted for the bonus. If you've opted for the bonus + mission at the same time you will have to keep pedestals attuned while killing off the White Mantle.
High priest Alkar is in Sorrow's Furnace. There are no white mantle there...
sau970982
sau970982
Ascalonian Squire
#8
1. Should be ok... so far I've tried finishing all Missions except one (Thirsty River) with Henchman-only-team.

2. Monk would be a 'safe' choice; Being a caster/ranger is easy to control your Henchman team's movement; Warrior, in my opinion, is the hardest class.

IGN - Goddess Beauty - Leader of Mission Impossible [MI]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginny
I am quite curious: I was listening to a conversation today and someone said that they had played the entire game through by soloing with henchies. That means every single quest and mission with only henchman.

1. Is that really possible? I mean, I can think of some REALLY hard quests and missions where this sounds preposterous

2. If so, which classes would be BEST suited?
QuixotesGhost
QuixotesGhost
Krytan Explorer
#9
I'd like to see someone do the bonus on Dunes of Despair (that's the one with the fort you have to defend right?) with henches... that'd really impress me.
E
Eldrig
Academy Page
#10
i have used henchies up until thunderhead keep, and will be using henchies to beat it
the only mission i needed real players to beat was the dessert mission where i had to defend the guy and go attack shit at teh same time.

the high priest mission in SF i have almost done by running back to teh priest really fast, i believe it is possible, but a complete bitch
Racthoh
Racthoh
Did I hear 7 heroes?
#11
Titan Source?

I will bow down to you for screenshots of that one.
E
Eldrig
Academy Page
#12
i dont know that mission, where is it at?
R
Rico Carridan
Krytan Explorer
#13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginny
I am quite curious: I was listening to a conversation today and someone said that they had played the entire game through by soloing with henchies. That means every single quest and mission with only henchman.

1. Is that really possible? I mean, I can think of some REALLY hard quests and missions where this sounds preposterous

2. If so, which classes would be BEST suited?
Short answer, yes, all of the normal game stuff is possible with henchies. I don't know about Sorrow's Furnace or some of the Titan missions, I suspect that would probably be significantly harder than most of the general missions. A lot of the tough missions are actually *easier* with henchies than a pug group. Thunderhead keep comes to mind.

Now, completing all of the game, including Sorrow's and all of the bonuses with henchies, I think would be quite a feat.

For a class, I would suggest mesmer or ranger, maybe with necro secondary. None of the henchmen have any interrupts, traps, or spirits, and none of them can make use of corpses.

Rico
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius
Grotto Attendant
#14
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginny
1. Is that really possible?
Not entirely.

The only mission I've never managed to do with henches is Aurora Glade.
Apart from that, I've completed the game four times with henches only. My avatars were a mo/e, w/mo, me/mo, and a w/me.

The w/me was definitely the hardest, the me/mo probably the easiest.

I didn't use runner, ever, but I did twink my later characters out with better weapons.

I think I could've done aurora solo if I used a class with good snares and had droknars armor.

Sorrows Furnace is doable as well, but the Titan quests after you complete the game are a different issue. The one in south shiverpeaks is pretty easy, but the others are IMO impossible to do with henches (lvl 6 henches vs lvl 28 mobs? good luck!)
Shukrut
Shukrut
Krytan Explorer
#15
Don't really know if it's possible or not. I've found some missions easier with henchies than with real players and vice versa... But just one thing comes to my mind... If you want to solo a whole game with AI helping you, why playing MMORPGs where the aim is actually team up with others and help each other?
Hockster
Hockster
Banned
#16
Mainly because team up and help each other is virtualy impossible with non guildies.
Sister Rosette
Sister Rosette
Lady Fie
#17
No, it's not. Henchies aren't infused. Try Ring of Fire or Abbadon's Mouth
sometime. They drop like rocks.
F
Former Ruling
Grotto Attendant
#18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sister Rosette
No, it's not. Henchies aren't infused. Try Ring of Fire or Abbadon's Mouth
sometime. They drop like rocks.
I've seen henchies own through the mainlands of Iron Mines >_>

I know cause someone took me to get my mask infused and used an all henchie group except for us.
P
Photeus
Academy Page
#19
There's only one mission that comes to mind at this question. Iron Mines of Maludune. Yes, the henches do great when you're making the assault towards the infusion area, but after you've been infused (or at least last time I played that mission with henches) the henches do not become infused with you.

Henches are damned hard to keep alive with Spectral agony and no infusion.
(Again, if they fixed that issue with the mission, to this question, I say, why not?)
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius
Grotto Attendant
#20
Photeus: it's a bug. If you're already infused and you're with an all-hench team, they don't get infused. You get the message everyone's been infused, but as you've noticed the henches haven't really.
The solution is to buy and bring some cheap armor, and when you get to the healer, wear it. Then the uninfused piece gets infused - and so do the henches!

And henches own in ring of fire/abbaddons.