How I Did Altheas Ashes Solo: No, Really

Althea's Ashes is by far the hardest quest I have encountered. Many groups of adventures have fallen trying to get that darn urn filled. I think their biggest problem is lack of focus and cooperation- this seems to be a very hard game in some places.

I came up with this strategy around level 11 or 12, but it wasn't until level 14 that I finally managed to do it (partially thanks to a full set of Ascalon Armor). But I'm convinced that a lower level warrior can do it, with alot of luck and focus. It took me many tries- and both my character and I had to get more experienced before it would work.

The strategy is to use a warrior with as much health as possible, and just run for the urn, fighting no Charr if possible.

(All enemies I've found cease pursuing after the player is a certain distance away, or they leave what they consider their territory.)

The key skills in the build are Sprint, Blood Renewal, Healing Signet and Endure Pain. I rounded it off with Watch Yourself! to complement the defense, a (retrospectively) redundant Vampiric Gaze, and Severing Blow(?) and Gash for picking fights.

Here's what I do:
1) Use Blood Renewal, taking lots of damage, but gaining fast healing, and a delayed healing effect.
2) Use Healing Signet to heal a bunch of the damage you just took. You're regenerating, and will get a burst of healing.
3) Use Sprint to run past enemies.
4) Use Endure Pain for 200+ hit points when things get rough. (I made a mistake in early trials of using Endure Pain too early. I ended up dying when it wore off, losing 200 hp.)

With this strategy, just about any group can be avoided. I'm confident that it can be adapted to other professions, and that there's a more efficient build. (This is the only character I've ever played, but from what I've seen, my guess is that Warrior/Monk would be the best build for this. Strength is a must for Endure Pain and Sprint, so Warrior has to be primary... for this strategy.)

However, in the Flame Temple Corridor, there's TONS of Charr. All that wasn't enough to get me all the way. Luckily, there's a Ressurection Temple near the Altar. Coming back there, it's still hard to get up to the Ashes- there's not one, but two sets of Charr Warriors that need to be evaded. After a few tries I had the bright idea of killing off the two Charr Rangers near the temple, letting me get a little bit closer before I activated my skill combo.

And I was able to dash up the temple and grab the ashes. And die right afterwards.

Skeptical? You should be. I have screenshots.

http://www.princessbill.com/images/gw002.JPG

There's me right after grabbing the prize. I wasn't able to get a shot of me immediately grabbing the urn, but you can see the text in the lower left that says 'Quest Updated.' The Party box shows that yes, I am alone out there.

http://www.princessbill.com/images/gw003.JPG

Here's one of me on the Temple, close to the Ashes, but with no way of getting past those Charr. This was taken after I already got the Ashes to show that yes, it's possible to get up on there on your own.

Note that I was doing it with a -60% death penalty. That's part of why I had to level up so much. Someone with more patience for reloading, or with the foresight to go after the two archers earlier, would only have a -15% penalty- and therefore need a much lower level to solo this quest.

So, I hope this writeup helps you- either to do this quest, or come up with your own insane strategies. And, yes, I am still guildless.

-Willow