Fear not, fellow farmers
kvndoom
I'll be posting the Ice Imp / Icy Sword solo build a little later tonight. First I gotta get a little SLEEP. Been up way too long playing this game. Stay tuned, and get your Denravi hats dusted off...
FazeDx
Cant wait. =D i hate how it takes so long to get to Ice imps tho...
kvndoom
Foremost, props to fellow guildie Rhuobhe for being the first in our guild to solo the imps. I've done some tweaking of his build, and have further tweaking to do. But this DOES work, I've farmed and sold 5 swords in the past day.
As the pic implies, you need TWO axes. A zealous one for fighting, and a non-zealous for running. Keeping your energy up is paramount, and when you do fight the Imps, the Zealous axe will refill your energy bar faster than 2 lousy pips ever could. Remeber the 45/2 shield you got with all those Bleached Shells I taught you how to get? Here's your chance to use it (see, all this stuff comes together)! Mesmer stances kick ASS because of their durations and sheer tanking prowess.
This can be done with swords as well, but the axe kills faster because its critical burst damage is insane. Pulling off a Desperation Blow or Executioner's Strike for 90+ damage just brings a certain joy.
Armor: Knight's Boots, Wyvern or Plate (any 85 base) head to toe, AND a Lieutenant's Helm from Henge of Denravi. You will get hexed a LOT, and being able to cut those times in half makes a huge difference. Just remember to switch your helm back when you start fighting!
Death is your FRIEND on this run. Just keep that in mind. You'll understand what I mean as you go through.
I've gotta go to work, but I'm going to tweak this some more later on. I already know at least 2 things I want to change and experiment with. Wasting my elite slot for a damn running skill sucks, but I might have a way around that. But until then, good luck, and post your success stories.
Rhuobhe
Hey thanks for the credit, kvndoom.
While it's possible to get all the way to the caves with just Sprint, I prefer to use 2 running skills because honestly getting to the cave is the most difficult part of IDS farming. Once you are there the ice imps are as easy as pie.
I've literally had EVERY ice imp in the cave attacking and casting on me at once, and I never, ever came anywhere close to dying.
I haven't bothered yet to get any armor other than my gladiators. Even with knight boots, plate helm and the rest gladiator, I still take 0 from virtually all attacks except ice spear (which does 2-3 per hit).
Desperation blow is an excellent skill to use, since your tactics will be high and dolyak will be up most of the time.
I want to mention, that when running I have no superior runes equipped; when I get to the cave I use 3 superior runes: Strength, Tactics, Axe mastery
Since my health goes down really slowly, and healing sig heals for about 150, there is no need to have 500+ health.
Taking no damage:
Here is the sword with the cave cleared:
Here is the weapon/sheild combo I used:
While it's possible to get all the way to the caves with just Sprint, I prefer to use 2 running skills because honestly getting to the cave is the most difficult part of IDS farming. Once you are there the ice imps are as easy as pie.
I've literally had EVERY ice imp in the cave attacking and casting on me at once, and I never, ever came anywhere close to dying.
I haven't bothered yet to get any armor other than my gladiators. Even with knight boots, plate helm and the rest gladiator, I still take 0 from virtually all attacks except ice spear (which does 2-3 per hit).
Desperation blow is an excellent skill to use, since your tactics will be high and dolyak will be up most of the time.
I want to mention, that when running I have no superior runes equipped; when I get to the cave I use 3 superior runes: Strength, Tactics, Axe mastery
Since my health goes down really slowly, and healing sig heals for about 150, there is no need to have 500+ health.
Taking no damage:
Here is the sword with the cave cleared:
Here is the weapon/sheild combo I used:
Katari
Quote:
I've gotta go to work, but I'm going to tweak this some more later on. I already know at least 2 things I want to change and experiment with. Wasting my elite slot for a damn running skill sucks, but I might have a way around that. But until then, good luck, and post your success stories.
I managed to solo them quite nicly using:
Evicerate
Executioner's Strike
Desperation Blow
Watch Yourself!
Dolyak Sig
Heal Sig
Sprint
Elemental Resistance
I supose I can drop "Watch Yourself!" As I'm already taking almost no damage.
Quote:
Your build worked just fine, but It isn't for the fait of heart. I rather like the W/Me build because it isn't so difficult to use.|
Death is your FRIEND on this run. Just keep that in mind. You'll understand what I mean as you go through.
You can do this run just fine with 15% DP. Letting the Ice Beast kill you, and sending you to the enterence is the easiest way of resetting the zone. I found Thunderwing (The Ele boss) to be a royal pain.I've managed to get by him only half the time. I suspose I'd have an easier time with Charge!....but I like my Evicerate too much ;P . Without that Denravi Helm, I'd be properly screwed. I was under the impression that the 20% AP on Penatrating blow does not stack very well with Strength. Perhaps Dismember would be a better choice? (Or Evicerate!  )Ok, so the first few times, getting into Mineral Springs was a pain, but its not so bad once you get it down. Watch out for: Mountain Trolls: With Battle Rage, these guys throw Disrupting Chops out faster than you'd think. Kill them first, and be sure to only use heal sig imediatly after you see them use Disrupting Chop. Thunderwing (Averica Ele Boss): Iron Mist + Hexes + Deep Wound + Lighting Orb. Somewheres around a 1:3 chance that he'll spawn in 1:2 boss packs you'll need to cross. I donno, maybe someone has some better ideas regarding this one.
Racthoh
My same old build worked just perfectly. However, it works very nicely when your region has the favor. The +3 regen pretty much keeps my finger off my Healing Signet.
Thunderwing as well was the only thing that stopped me after my second death when I had too much DP to get past him. Although, had I just stopped and used my Healing Signet I would've been fine (completely forgot about the taking no damage from Iron Mist except for lightning). Just gotta remember to pull back and drop the shadows ASAP. Rhuobhe
If you have elemental resistance, when you encounter Thunderwing, sprint/charge into the group, as soon as he throws iron mist on you, hit elemental resistance (& Watch Yourself! if you have it charged) and spam healing signet until iron mist flashes. When it's flashing, hit spring/charge and get the hell out of there!
It might be a bit faster to kill them with another elite other than charge, but I find that it only takes about 10-15 mins to clear the cave, and I really hate running and getting cought up in a close situation (especially with 15% DP) Also, I would highly recommend taking the "high" route as it is much faster and safer. Don't kill avicara/giants unless you want to have fun The drops on avicara seem to be nerfed; although I once got a sup vigor from one - must have been a fluke.
kvndoom
I just did a test run before I left home, subbing Rush for Charge and Eviscerate for Executioners Strike. Rush works very well, if you're in a pinch, swipe at a baddie a few times, then run like hell for 18 seconds.
 Probably gonna sub Thrill of Victory for Penetrating Attack, be a poor man's Final Thrust and keep my adrenaline. Penetrating Attack wasn't doing any significant damage at all, not even worth having on the skill bar. Definitely either Power Attack or Thrill of Victory. Probably Power, since it's extra damage isn't conditional.Thunderwing got me once, when he was at the bridge. Not good getting slowed to a crawl at a choke point. The Trolls are the only real nuisance once you get in the caves, but with more attack skills I think I can dispatch them with considerable ease now. The Imps drop candy cane shards, I got 4 from them last night. A Fellblade dropped once too, but it was crap. Still, the potential is there. Can't wait to get back on! Rhuobhe
I've killed a lot of ice imps - around the Grotto & Lornar's Pass before the IDS update and mineral springs after. Probably 500+ in all. Never got a purple or gold drop. Oh well, at least now they drop IDS's which have made me some nice profit so far.
FazeDx
My only problem is when i get to the stone summit there hexes and bleeding kill me. Thats my only problem. Any tips? Any help is apreciated
Racthoh
I just let them kill me. The res point is right there and clearing 15% DP against that opening group of 10 or so Avicara is no sweat.
Katari
Quote:
Originally Posted by Racthoh
Thunderwing as well was the only thing that stopped me after my second death when I had too much DP to get past him. Although, had I just stopped and used my Healing Signet I would've been fine (completely forgot about the taking no damage from Iron Mist except for lightning). Just gotta remember to pull back and drop the shadows ASAP. |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Rhuobhe
I've killed a lot of ice imps - around the Grotto & Lornar's Pass before the IDS update and mineral springs after. Probably 500+ in all. Never got a purple or gold drop. Oh well, at least now they drop IDS's which have made me some nice profit so far.
Have you seen them drop an IDS, or are you just assuming this. People report that only the imps in Mineral Springs drop them, but with all the new builds being thrown around, who knows what to think.
Static
Ugh man, the Frozen Titans are the only thing that make running to the cave hard>.<. Anyone know any tips on dealing with them?
Racthoh
Go to your quest log and drop the quest "Defend Droknars Forge"
Dwimmerlaik
I'm calling bullshit until i see further screens/methods.
As it stands now, i practically carbon copied the original build and method, minus charge since i do not have it. After trying the "shorter, faster" northern path, i'm calling pure bullshit on this. Let's begin: I'm wearing: Knight's Boots, Plate Legs/Chest/Gloves, and the Denravi Lieutenant Helm. I'm wielding carbon-copies of kvndoom's weaponry. I die on the exact same spot every time: the 4 ice imps and the 1 level 10 golem about halfway through the run. If i sprint, they freeze. If i rush, they freeze. They use Water Trident religiously, which knocks me down. I considered bringing balanced stance, but realized i'm repeatedly frozen to hell. I attempted to kill the 4 imps and the golem, and successfully was nuked to death by them. They weren't doing 0 damage to me with everything up - they were doing 20-30 per special, which came in waves. If i attempt to run through them, i get slowed down and hit the Tengu who are camped IMMEDIATELY behind them, with no chance of losing aggro. So what is your magic secret? Or are you guys jerking everyone's penis around? Dwimmerlaik
Quote:
Originally Posted by Racthoh
I just let them kill me. The res point is right there and clearing 15% DP against that opening group of 10 or so Avicara is no sweat.
What is your 'same old build' that you use to kill the melee-Tengu who managed to sword me to death within a minute?
NinjaMonkey
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwimmerlaik
What is your 'same old build' that you use to kill the melee-Tengu who managed to sword me to death within a minute?
You DO know that if you use "Elemental Resistance" while fighting tengu, you'll just die faster. right?
Racthoh
Sprint
Flurry Hundred Blades Watch Yourself Galrath Slash Final Thrust Healing Signet Dolyak Signet Strength - 10 + 1 Sword - 12 + 1 Tactics - 8 + 4 Gladiator chest/leggings, dragon gauntlets/boots, ascalon helm. Grognar's Defender (aka, desert collector shield), and a sword with a +5 defense mod. I'm not sure what you're fighting, but level 10 golems don't use Water Trident. The only thing that would be knocking you down is the Azure Shadow's Signet of Judgement. The only thing that can slow you is the ele avicara boss outside of the enemies in the cave. Here is me in a typical run: Having the favor makes a heck of a lot easier, but it isn't required.
Static
Quote:
Originally Posted by Racthoh
Go to your quest log and drop the quest "Defend Droknars Forge"
Ahh, thanks!Now that the titans are out of the way, how do you get past the golems and their Trident + the spell that slows you down at the beginning of the run?Lol, thaks man!
Dwimmerlaik
Quote:
Originally Posted by Racthoh
WOnderful stuff
Thanks for being forthcoming
The issue wasn't even near the cave - the issue was the Siege Ice Golems mixed within groups of Summit enroute, then in Mineral Springs the one solitary clump of 4 Ice Imps bordering a group of Tengu. They slow you down, the tengu annihilate you, the end. I just can't get past them.
Static
^I cant get past the Siege Ice Golems at the beginning of the run, before you get into the mineral springs, they just knock me down and slow me, then they gang devour me >.<.Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Dwimmerlaik
The Siege Ice Golems are tricky, and i seem to have found my issue (though unrelated to the siege ice golems).
For the Siege Ice Golems, when you run past that first clump of guys in Tasca, keep going up the path and sprint immediately when you hit the first clump of guys - and run STRAIGHT. When you're safe, stop, rest, relax. There's a patrol of Siege Ice's walking up through the other 3 siege ices. Also, if you give the static siege ices some time, they clump in a corner and you can walk right by. I figured out a bit of my issue - at the tiny clump of ice imps near, say mid-top of Mineral Springs, they can double-spawn. Either it's a bug, or someone is a bastard. I went through 4 consecutive runs of them being doubled, then went through one and noticed that not only were there 3 ice imps instead of 6, there were significantly less Tengu. Unfortunately, Mr. Elementalist Tengu was at the bridge
Static
^thanks bro, i found a way how to get past the siege ice golems. I think i've figured out a way how you can kill tho ice imps. First, before you even aggro the imps, cast elemental resistence on yourself and Dolyak Signet. Then aggro the imps. After Elemental Resistence and/or Dolyak Signet ends, IMMEDIATLY recast it, and keep doing this in a loop while attacking the imps, untill you kill them
.If you want, you can PM me in-game, and we can doa couple of test runs and whatnot, to see what works, im on right now. My in-game i name is Static X.Hope this helps.
kvndoom
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwimmerlaik
I figured out a bit of my issue - at the tiny clump of ice imps near, say mid-top of Mineral Springs, they can double-spawn. Either it's a bug, or someone is a bastard. I went through 4 consecutive runs of them being doubled, then went through one and noticed that not only were there 3 ice imps instead of 6, there were significantly less Tengu. Unfortunately, Mr. Elementalist Tengu was at the bridge
Dwimmerlaik
Thanks to Racthoh for sorting me out. I am now a bonfide Imp slayer.
Doctor Rhino
Nice, kvn. And damn, you have been farming for a loooong time. Keep coming up with new ways to farm everything.
Sir Krohan
This si too hard.
I cant even get past the RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOing Ice golems and heretics.
Witchblade
cant get past the frozens RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOs as well
Sir Krohan
Now I can get past them but the problem are the avicaras outside the cave
Marcello99
Do these runs make you good money?
Witchblade
i d like to see u handle the golems
2hours trying .. didnt get past em ONCEi tried to kill em.. i had the time for one attack, i m frozen to death and signet cant be cast cauz of their damn hexes Sir Krohan
Quote:
Originally Posted by Witchblade
i d like to see u handle the golems
2hours trying .. didnt get past em ONCEi tried to kill em.. i had the time for one attack, i m frozen to death and signet cant be cast cauz of their damn hexes I could show you if you want msg me IGN: Sir krohan
kvndoom
You're not fighting anything in Tasca's. If you ever swing your weapon at all in that zone, you're already doing it wrong. If I happen to be online and I'm free to help and you ask nicely, I'll show you the run. Or just go to Citadel and politely ask one of the many W/Me's standing around if they've made the run and if they can show you.
For sword folks, here's the build I've been using all day. 20 seconds per imp, which is satisfactory for me: (I wasn't using the Icy sword though, it does minimal damage to imps) And don't forget to take some sweet peppermint candy with you just in case you get the "munchies" along the way.
Reks
Indeed, never fight in Tasca's Demise. Unless it's that mob that's spread out in the last area. I just let myself get killed by them, to get rez passed them.
My route. Stay in the green waiting zones while allowing the patrols to go pass. Although you can safely run though the first yellow patrol I've marked. My original post with screenies.  My ax variant here.http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...&postcount=367
Witchblade
I m doing runs with Krohan's help
 looks like i ve been very unlucky at monster spawning ^^anyway thx to him
Yanman.be
Quote:
Originally Posted by kvndoom
that just saddens me..so many skill points... and 0 fame :/
Reks
Alas, fame means nothing when you're a rich farmer. And that goes for the PvE-oriented crowd(like me).
nowandromeda
Well me and a couple other fellas from the forums were doing this last night, the run is surprizingly easy once you get everything and get the hang of it. Although I havent done it soloing yet, i am about to. Thanks to the people who found it and the guys who showed me how to do it.
Witchblade
this is run is easy unless u r not lucky at monster spawning
.. like i ve so been the 12 fu**in last runs i did ...conclusion ... 6hours of running, only had 2 chances of cleaning the place .. dropped loads of Frigids .. nothing more all the other runs couldnt be done .. especially when it comes to the entrance of the cave full of avicara or having to deal with 2-3 trolls in the middle of those imps ... btw, one question ... is this sword permanently available or only for a few days like those candy crap ?
karunpav
Quote:
Originally Posted by Racthoh
Sprint
Flurry Hundred Blades Watch Yourself Galrath Slash Final Thrust Healing Signet Dolyak Signet Strength - 10 + 1 Sword - 12 + 1 Tactics - 8 + 4 Gladiator chest/leggings, dragon gauntlets/boots, ascalon helm. Grognar's Defender (aka, desert collector shield), and a sword with a +5 defense mod. /Gasp! Your Spider Farmer build! Perfect, now I can farm those guys when we don't have favor. |
