Arborstone (mission)



''This is a Mission entry. For information on the Arborstone Explorable area, see Arborstone (Explorable). For information on the Arborstone location, see Arborstone (Location).''

Objectives

 * Retrieve the urn of Saint Viktor.
 * Mhenlo must survive.
 * Danika must survive.
 * ADDED: Protect Danika while she casts the ritual to open the main door.

Getting the Urn
Follow the road to the rear gate of zu Heltzer Cathedral (point "1" on the map). You will find mixed groups of Warden in this area. Some of the giant mushrooms emit Stone Spores.

After a short dialog, Danika will open the gate, allowing the party into the cathedral. In order to be able to pick up the Urn of Saint Viktor (point "2" on the map), you first have to defeat five groups of Warden. Two will await you in the water at the bottom of the stairs, both groups will attack you as soon as you enter the water (it is not possible to aggro only one). Two more groups guard the stairs leading upward to the main cathedral. Those four groups are easily defeated, as they consist only of warriors and rangers, but the fifth group, on top of the stairs, will include two Warden of Earth, two ritualists and a boss (either Ryver Mossplanter or Milefaun Mindflayer). Take heed not to accidentally aggro it while fighting one of the groups on the stairs.

After you pick up the urn, a cinematic will play and Mhenlo will be trapped outside the building, leaving the party and Danika to escape through the collapsing cathedral. Note that if you skip the cinematic you may have to wait for Danika to catch up with you.

Falling Stones
From now on, fragments of the building fall at a regular rate, causing minor damage to the whole party and interrupting skills and attacks. Fast Casting, and skills that prevent interruption, like Mantra of Concentration, Tranquil Was Tanasen, and Glyph of Concentration are recommended for members who are carrying resurrect spells. Mantra of Resolve may also help, but will be very costly if it is active in the wrong places (see below). In general it is recommended for spellcasters to focus on spells with a relatively short activation time when preparing for this mission.

Several areas of the cathedral have the environmental effect "Cathedral Collapse", in which the above described effect will occur more frequently. (This is why Mantra of Resolve may be too expensive.) You should avoid fighting in those areas whenever possible, especially when venturing with henchmen. If party members should die in such an area, henchmen healers will often be unable to resurrect them, as they are unable to time their spells right so that they are not interrupted.

The party will be back at the stairs where they entered the cathedral. A group of Stone Rains and Stone Reapers will spawn in the water below. Focus on dispatching the Stone Rains quickly, as they are capable of massive damage dealing, should they gang up on one character.

There are three routes from the cathedral sanctum to the atrium and exit (point "3" on the map):

The Southern Route
The southernmost route (purple path on the map) is populated mainly by large, coordinated and balanced teams of Dredge, which can be quite difficult to defeat. If you choose to take this path, be sure your team is similarly coordinated. This path is guarded by the boss Dark Fang.

The Northern Route
The largest danger on the northernmost route (yellow path on the map) are the five groups of Oni that will ambush you. Each group consists of two to five Oni. The first will attack you in the vicinity of the doorway leading out of the cathedral, after you climbed up the collapsed side of the sanctum. Outside in the cathedral garden are two groups of three or four Stone Scale Kirins, patrolling at high speed and three larger groups of Undergrowths. Further in the back you will encounter the boss The Ancient, who is accompanied by one regular Dragon Moss. Take care not to over-aggro. All these groups are quite weak when fought separately, but together they may overwhelm the party by their superior numbers. Try to take out the Kirins first, so that they can't swarm you with Vampiric Horrors later. If you happen to aggro the boss, kill it quickly as it is a potent damage dealer.

After you have cleared this area, the path leads back into the cathedral. The doorway is guarded by a pair of Stone Reapers that will become active when approached. Inside the doorway is a collapsing area. You should either try to rush trough it or lure the group of three or four Stone Scale Kirins waiting behind it to the outside.

Now you will find yourself in another large area with two more large groups of Undergrowths and another pair of Dragon Mosses. Again, those groups can, and should if possible, be fought separately.

There are two ramps leading upward, one at the wall to the south-west, one at the north wall. Both ramps are guarded by a group of Oni. You should take the southern ramp, because if you do so it is often not neccessary to engage the group of Undergrowths which is closer to the north wall of the area. Also, the path leading south from the northern ramp is guarded by two Stone Crushers.

In front of the doorway leading to a short flight of stairs, you will encounter the third group of Oni. The stairs and most of the corridor behind are covered by collapsing areas, only a small section at the foot of the stairs is safe – but here the fourth group of Oni awaits.

The fifth, and last, group of Oni will attack you at the end of the corridor, on top of the rubble sloping down to the atrium.

The Center Route
The center route (green path on the map) is the shortest. Proceed upward via the stairs from where you defeated the Warden boss. At the end of the stairs, a pair of hidden Stone Reapers will come to life and behind those a small group of Warden is waiting. Dispatch them quickly and move on to the left. If you linger here, another group of Warden will come at you from the right. Although they don't pose any threat, they slow you down unnecessarily.

It is recommended to cross the cathedral hall from the left, as here the collapsing areas are placed slightly different and less unpleasant than on the right. Fight your way through some more small groups of Wardens until you reach the stairs leading down to the main hall floor. From now on you have to proceed more cautiously. In addition to the Warden patrolling this area, there are two hidden Stone Rains at the end of the stairs. Take heed not to over-aggro. If you are fast and lucky, you can slip past most of the Warden populating the hall.

The stairs leading up towards the atrium are guarded by two hidden groups of Oni. Unfortunately, large parts of the stairs are also covered by collapsing areas. The first group of Oni will reveal itself while you are crossing the first collapsing area. Clear this area before engaging the Oni, even if this means to leave the initiative to the Oni. The second group awaits at the very top of the stairs. There is a small patch on the topmost part of the stairs, which is not collapsing. You should be about on it when the Oni reveal themselves. Wait there for them to engage you, do not charge up at them, as this would mean you would have to fight in a collapsing area again.

The Atrium
As soon as you reach the atrium, several Stone Rains, two Stone Reapers and one Stone Soul will come alive and gather around the boss Stone Judge. You should try to intercept and take down one or two of the Stone Rains spawning next to you before they can join the group, as this will make the following fight reasonably easier.

Eliminate the regular mobs before the boss. Have a warrior tank the Stone Judge during this fight, as his attacks can be devastating to less armored characters. As soon as the Stone Judge is eliminated, Danika will start the ritual to open the door. Two Stone Crushers will awaken next to the door. Prevent them from attacking Danika, as their attacks will interrupt her ritual. As soon as the door is open, Danika will leave and a cinematic will show the end of the mission. It is not necessary to have killed the Stone Crushers or even to carry the urn out of the cathedral.

Hint: Don't forget to use the Urn of Saint Viktor for protection. Put a caster on "urn duty" and keep dropping the urn around Danika et al. Remember to pick up the urn after each fight, as Danika will not follow the party while the urn is on the ground.

Notes on the Urn of Saint Viktor
The urn is charged through damage received by its bearer. When dropped, the urn summons Viktor to protect your party, creating a blue shield effect. Characters under this Shield are enchanted with the Shield of Saint Viktor.

Progression and division of the Shield of Saint Viktor This table shows the exact damage shield each party member recieves when affect by the Urn. Find the level of the urn dropped on the up/down axis and cross-reference it with the number of party members affected to get the number. For example, a level 3 urn dropped on 2 party members will give each 120 points of damage shield.

Trivia
If you drop the urn and do not pick it up again rather quickly, Danika will soon start to complain: "Hey, this urn is one of my family's most prized possessions. You can't just leave it here unattended!" She will not venture far from where the urn was dropped until it is picked up and carried again.

NPCs

 * 20 Brother Mhenlo
 * 20 Danika zu Heltzer

Monsters

 * 23 Stone Scale Kirin
 * 28 Oni
 * Dredge
 * Plants
 * 23 Undergrowth
 * 24 Dragon Moss
 * Stone Guardians
 * 23 Stone Crusher
 * 24 Stone Soul
 * 22 Stone Reaper
 * 23 Stone Rain
 * Wardens
 * 18 Warden of the Trunk
 * 21 Warden of the Tree
 * 24 Warden of Forests
 * 21 Warden of the Branch
 * 24 Warden of Winds
 * 20 Warden of the Spirit
 * 24 Warden of Earth
 * 18 Warden of the Spring
 * 20 Warden of the Summer
 * 24 Warden of Seasons

Bosses and Skills

 * 28 Stone Judge : Forceful Blow
 * 28 Ryver Mossplanter : Lacerate
 * 28 Dark Fang : Vampiric Spirit
 * 24 Milefaun Mindflayer : Energy Surge
 * 28 The Ancient : Shatterstone

Additional Notes

 * Players will be placed in Altrumm Ruins at the completion of this mission.
 * Though the objectives do not mention this, Danika must survive or the mission will fail.
 * the first time I tried this mission, I just took all henchmen except for Nika (Giving me an 8 player party) because I was an assassin myself. Without trying or expecting to do so, I got the Masters' Reward. So there's no need to go through the trouble of waiting for other players to join your party, or having to share all loot, because you can do this mission on your own.