Vizunah Square (mission)

Objectives

 * Locate the source of the plague in Kaineng City
 * Mhenlo must survive
 * Master Togo must survive
 * Destroy Shiro's Construct

Two parties
This is the game's first two party mission, with teams coming from Vizunah Square (Local Quarter) and Vizunah Square (Foreign Quarter). The game attempts to join parties together every 60 seconds (the mission count-down shows the remaining time until the next grouping). If there is no team from the other location, your party will be paired with a team of 8 henchmen. Two teams (one from each quarter) can attempt to start the mission together by coordinating when they click, Begin Mission, but this will not work if anyone has already queued up.

Both parties succeed or fail together, meaning that a poorly organized team can bring trouble to your own. Do not be afraid to restart if you feel that the other team is letting yours do all the work. Similarly, as you cannot resurrect members of another team, it usually makes sense to restart if one party wipes &mdash; at least one of the battles is difficult for the combined strength of two teams and nearly impossible with only one.

After the teams join the mission, but before it begins in earnest, there will be about 30-60 seconds that the teams can use to meet each other (via local or team chat). This is a good time to discuss tactics (or to learn that the two teams don't have a common language). During the mission, both teams will be able to "hear" each other's called targets. The first real chance to assess the strength and ability of the other team comes when the two groups join (see below); after the battle (before Togo & Mhenlo are ready to proceed), you will have about 10-15s to regroup (or reconsider whether to continue).

Finally, this is the first Factions mission that was designed for all party members to be level 20. Let the other team know if you are bringing lower level characters (and be mindful of teams that do so without letting you know; they might be expecting your team to run the mission for them).

Primary
The party that started from the local quarter will begin in the courtyard at the blue dot. This party must fend off waves of Afflicted for a while until the other party can arrive. The final wave brings a boss. The party that started from the foreign quarter must clear three groups of Am Fah to reach the other party. After both parties arrive and finish clearing whatever afflicted are there, a cut scene plays, and then the mission begins in earnest.

After the cut scene, the two parties must fight off additional waves of afflicted mobs in the area with the blue dot. The final wave again brings a boss, so once the boss appears, no more afflicted will spawn there. Note that only one party gets a morale boost for killing the boss, so the other party will not have rez signets recharge.

After clearing all of the afflicted that spawn by the blue dot, follow the path. Similar waves of afflicted arrive at the next two green dots on the map. As before, the arrival of a boss indicates the end of additional spawns of afflicted. In between are various scattered afflicted and groups of Am Fah. Higher level afflicted come to attack as you get further into the mission. There is a large group of afflicted as well as a single Shiro'ken at the final green dot. No additional mobs spawn there, but only the ones you see when you arrive.

There are many Canthan Peasants scattered about the mission. When one dies, it is replaced by an afflicted mob. The peasants may help you fight a bit, but are pretty fragile.

If player parties joined from both sides, the two parties can move around independently. If you are joined by a henchmen party from the other side, it will mostly follow you around after the first cut scene. Mhenlo and Togo will more or less follow you in between the large combat areas, though they will stop to fight anything they see. At the areas with the dots, Mhenlo and Togo will prefer to stand roughly in the center of the area, though they will move around somewhat to chase mobs.

The main complication of the mission is that it is awkward for parties to heal each other. The lifebars of the other party will not appear in your party window for easy reference, though Mhenlo and Togo do. Often mobs will mostly attack one party and ignore the other, which can overwhelm that one party. It can be useful to bring a fairly defensive setup to prevent your party from being overwhelmed.

Skills that heal or otherwise protect all allies (as opposed to merely party members) are highly useful in this mission. This includes a variety wards, wells, spirits, and spells. This can help prevent the other party you are paired with from wiping. The plethora of corpses from enough afflicted to challenge two parties means that skills that rely on mobs dying can be highly useful. Necromancers will get massive energy from Soul Reaping and have many corpses available to exploit. Other skills such as "I Will Avenge You!" can be useful, with the dead canthan peasants counting as allies. You will also find that many ranger trap skills will be especially useful in this mission, one trap can take down a whole group of afflicted. Placing traps in the easily spotted spawn points of the afflicted will generally make this mission a lot easier.

If both parties include players and are decent single parties in their own right, the main challenge of the mission is to distribute the damage that mobs do between your two parties. If your party is taking most of the damage and in danger of being overwhelmed, back off and let the other party absorb some damage for a while. Conversely, if there are many mobs up but they aren't attacking your party much, get in there and take some hits to take pressure off the other party.

If the party from the other side is only henchmen, it will be rather short on defensive skills, but not wholly inadequate for the mission. Assume that your party will have to take the bulk of the damage and rely on the henchmen party mostly for damage dealing. They can take some hits on their own and survive, but can wipe pretty quickly if you leave them to fend for themselves. It can sometimes help to thin a group of afflicted but not finish it off entirely if there are other large groups up, as the smaller group won't pose much of a threat to the other party.

Additionally, you'll have to protect Togo and Mhenlo. They don't tend to get themselves into trouble from Am Fah, but at the dotted combat areas, will stand around the middle. If both parties run off in the same direction while a group of mobs comes from another direction, they will all target Togo or Mhenlo, which can be a big problem. Be careful not to chase mobs too far for this reason. Also keep an eye on Mhenlo and Togo, as one may see mobs off in one direction and chase them, and you'll have to rush over to help out to save him if there are too many.

Master's reward
For the big fights in the areas marked by dots, one wave of afflicted will spawn when the previous one dies. The speed with which you kill afflicted matters, but don't finish them off so quickly that more spawn while your group is low on health and energy. Multi-target attacks and true area of effect attacks can kill mobs quickly, as they tend to bunch up a lot.

Much time can sometimes be lost when running from one big fight to the next. Don't get too far ahead of Mhenlo and Togo, as sometimes a single mob will spawn far behind you, and they will stop to fight it. You'll have to head back to help them out, as it will take a long time for them to kill the mob on their own.

Minion Masters can be a mixed blessing. The extra minions can help in the big combat areas, but they often slow Mhenlo way down outside of them. If you bring a minion master, be sure to send him well ahead of your parties except when fighting Am Fah, so that you don't lose a lot of time to Mhenlo stopping to heal minions. Beware that with multiple minion masters, the health sacrifice of Blood of the Master will heal all of the minions, which can be a far larger sacrifice than an unprepared necromancer was ready for, possibly even killing him.

The Afflicted Ritualists of level 20 or higher have Flesh of my Flesh. Target them quickly, as rekilling many mobs after they die and are resurrected can waste a lot of time.

Afflicted that spawn when a peasant dies do not necessarily need to be killed to complete the mission (unless Togo or Mhenlo engage them). These are most easily recognized as the ones that wander off into a corner and are content to stay there, rather than coming to attack you. Don't be in a rush to kill them while there are other mobs to fight. Sometimes, you can skip them entirely.

Hard mode
Few enough people do Hard mode that getting a randomly selected group from the other side is unlikely. Thus, if you aren't coordinating with another group from the other side, you'll probably get henchmen.

The party of henchmen from the other side is far more durable in hard mode. However, mobs also hit much harder, so if you try to split damage with them 50/50 and do nothing else to heal or protect them, they will wipe, and then you'll be in huge trouble. Wells, wards, spirits, and other skills that heal or protect all allies (as opposed to merely all party members or target ally) are quite useful. Even so, your group will have to take the bulk of the damage that mobs dish out.

If one or two henchmen of the henchmen party run off alone to fight a group, it can help if you heal them directly. A henchmen party will not get any Resurrection Signet recharges, ever, so every death in their party is a problem. Henchmen healers tend to get into the most trouble. If the henchmen party has dead members when you arrive for the parties to meet up, it may be best to just restart then, rather than delaying the probable eventual wipe.

If you have only henchmen and heroes, that may require you to bring four healers in your party. If your entire party can bring sufficient defensive skills, you may be able to get by with only three healers. For remaining hero slots, a necromancer with some minions, Well of Power, and Rotting Flesh (which you must disable against the Am Fah) is quite useful. Another useful hero is a water Elementalist with Ward Against Harm, Maelstrom, and Blurred Vision.

It can make the mission much easier to join with a group from the other side with players. This allows both parties to take heavily defensive builds and keep themselves alive.

The hard battles come at the blue dot and the first two green dots. The battles in between are easy, and your main concern is not missing something that makes Mhenlo and Togo stay behind to fight one mob alone.

In each of the three major battles, two groups of mobs spawn at different points, and once most of those are dead, the next two groups of mobs spawn. This repeats a few times, and then finally a single group of mobs will spawn with a boss. Because you're going to have a few mobs from previous groups up when the next groups spawn, you want those few to be as weak of mobs as possible.

Your top priorities to kill are Afflicted Ritualists, Afflicted Elementalists, and Afflicted Monks, in about that order. Afflicted Ritualists are extremely potent healers, and while they can also resurrect dead afflicted if they are allowed the chance, they are somewhat less inclined to do so than in Normal mode. Afflicted Elementalists have by far the highest damage output of any afflicted. Monks aren't the most powerful healers, but can do a reasonable amount of damage and slaughter minions very quickly with Ray of Judgment.

For the most part, you want to stay with the henchmen party and let mobs come to you. Chasing into the back line of mobs can distribute damage too lopsidedly, and cause major trouble for one party or the other. The exception is that once a group isn't too large, you may have to go in and focus fire on Ritualists to kill them, as they prefer to stay back more than any other mobs you fight.

When a Canthan Peasant dies, it usually triggers the spawn of an afflicted. This new afflicted is not linked to anything, and will mostly try to run away. It's usually best to just let it hide in the corner and focus on other mobs, though you may need to hunt down Ritualists to stop them from healing excessively with Recuperation and Life.

The second major battle is the easiest of the three, because the fewest mobs spawn in each group. The third major battle is the hardest, because several pairs of Ritualists spawn. Killing the Ritualists is a very high priority: if there are a couple of Ritualists left when the next wave of mobs spawns, and more Ritualists join them in the next wave, you can end up with four ritualists healing and resurrecting each other, which can be a major problem. (New mobs will spawn even if your party has not defeated the previous mobs.)

Mhenlo and Togo are quite strong, and much stronger than any characters in your party. As such, it can sometimes help to let them tank some, though if you do this, you do have to watch their lifebars and heal them as appropriate.

There is usually adequate time for even a heavily defensive party to complete the mission with master's reward. One exception is if the other party wipes and you lose their damage, you'll take much longer to finish the mission, if you can even finish it at all. The other major exception is if you allow too many Ritualists to stack up, so that you stalemate for a while, and take several minutes to clear one group.

NPCs

 * 10 (20) Canthan Peasant
 * 20 (20) Canthan Guard

Allies

 * 20 Brother Mhenlo
 * 20 Master Togo

Monsters
Afflicted Humans Shiro'ken
 * 14, 20, 24 (26) Afflicted Warrior
 * 14, 20 (26) Afflicted Ranger
 * 14, 20, 24 (26) Afflicted Monk
 * 20, 24 (26) Afflicted Necromancer
 * 10, 20, 24 (26) Afflicted Mesmer
 * 10, 20, 24 (26) Afflicted Elementalist
 * 14, 20, 24 (26) Afflicted Assassin
 * 12, 20, 24 (26) Afflicted Ritualist
 * 10 (20) Canthan Peasant
 * Am Fah
 * 20 (26) Am Fah Marksman
 * 20 (26) Am Fah Healer
 * 20 (26) Am Fah Necromancer
 * 20 (26) Am Fah Assassin
 * 28 (30) Shiro'ken Warrior
 * 28 (30) Shiro'ken Ranger
 * 28 (30) Shiro'ken Monk
 * 28 (30) Shiro'ken Necromancer
 * 28 (30) Shiro'ken Elementalist
 * 28 (30) Shiro'ken Mesmer
 * 28 (30) Shiro'ken Assassin
 * 28 (30) Shiro'ken Ritualist

Bosses - elite skill captures

 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Ako - Enraged Smash
 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Huan - Broad Head Arrow
 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Miju - Ray of Judgment
 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Thu - Order of Apostasy
 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Li Yun - Stolen Speed
 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Kam - Mind Burn
 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Soon Kim - Shadow Form
 * 24 (30) The Afflicted Hakaru - Weapon of Quickening

Ending cutscene
Messenger Vetaura: We cannot stand by while Shiro continues to meddle in the affairs of the mortal.

Emissary Heleyne: His duty is to shepherd the newly dead to the gates of the Mists.

He's shirking his responsibility as an Envoy.

Courier Torivos: For every disembodied spirit that he lets loose here in the mortal realm, the delicate equilibrium between worlds tips further out of balance.

Whatever his plan is, it must be stopped.

Herald Demrikov: ''But how? We are only Envoys ourselves. We cannot fight Shiro.''

Emissary Heleyne: We can combat Shiro by acting like Shiro.

Messenger Vetaura: We are the Envoys to the next world.

The shepherds who guide the newly departed to Eternal Paradise within the Mists.

We were sent here to show you the path to the afterlife.

Herald Demrikov: ''But it's not your time. We will not guide you today.''

Courier Torivos: We return you your departed spirits.

We give back to you the gift of life.

Emissary Heleyne: But it comes with a price.

Herald Demrikov: In return, we ask your help in defeating Shiro.

Messenger Vetaura: Seek out Suun, the Oracle of the Mists.

He will show you how to become Weh no Su, Closer to the Stars.

Master Togo: ''Ah, Weh no Su. The Celestial test. Mhenlo and I know it well.''

Why do you wish us to pass this test?''

Courier Torivos: Spirits in this realm can hide themselves from the view of the mortals.

Until you have become Closer to the Stars, you will not be able to see Shiro, let alone fight him.



Messenger Vetaura: We are counting on you to help us return the balance that Shiro has undone.

We will be watching.

Follow-up
Upon completing this mission, players are sent to Dragon's Throat. Accept the quest Finding The Oracle from Messenger Gosuh to continue with the campaign.