Hell's Precipice (mission)



Objective: Otherwise known as "The Big Oops!" this is the mission where you try to undo all that you have been doing for the past 8 missions or so. Vizier Khilbron (or the Lich Lord as it is now revealed) was using you to overcome the Mursaat for his own fiendish goals and now you must find a way to destroy him or stop his army.

Primary
The mission itself is straight forward but requires much preparation. Your main foes in this mission will be the Burning Titans whom you met at the end of the previous mission. Unlike that docile creature which you probably dispatched quickly, these Burning Titans are trouble. They inflict massive damage, and when destroyed, a Risen Ashen Hulk rises in their place. When that is destroyed, a pair of warrior creatures spawn: a Hand of the Titans and a Fist of the Titans. In addition, members of your party adjacent to these monsters will burn and suffer health degenration.

A typical battle will consist of fighting a few of these creatures, but each battle will drag on for long as each creature breaks into smaller creatures.

Tip 1: It is imperative that you tackle the Titans and their spawns one by one. Good party organization is very important. If every couple of members fight a different monsters, you'll end up with four or five Hands and Fists running around and they are tough to beat. Instead, focus on a Burning Titan, break it down to a Hulk, then break that down to a Hand and a Fist, dispatch them, then move on to the next Hulk or Titan.

Tip 2: It is useful to have a Ranger who has Spirit of Winter as it turns all damage to cold and everything in this mission is weak against cold damage.

Tip 3: Remind your Elementalists to not bring their fire attacks. Also warriors should rather use a normal weapon instead of that beloved Fiery Dragon Sword.

Tip 4: Remind your Warriors to bring some damage soaking/life enhancing skills/spells (like Endure Pain). The Titans can dish out lots of damage in a hurry as can the Portal Wraiths at the end. To give your monks time to heal you, you need these protections.

Tip 5: Surprisingly, the Necromancer's Well of Blood works well on this mission. It can be used when the Risen Ash Hulks die and the Fist/Hands of Titans appear. Depending on how many points the necro has in Blood Magic, this can negate the effects of burning on the players. This will free up a lot of energy for the monks. Its also useful on the imps that are running about. At first glance you would think there are not many corpses to exploit, but in fact there are quite a few.

When you start the mission, just follow the path on the map in red. Beware of overlapping patrols of Sparks of the Titans as they are easy to dispatch in small numbers but can be devastating in large groups.

Continue on your path until you get to point 2 on the map, which is guarded by two Ashen Hulks. Make sure to lure them away up the path from which you came, because the pool of lava to your right will spawn quite a large number of Hands and Fists and also two Bosses (fortunately one by one or in small groups only). They will walk by and gather in the area around the portals. Lure them away and take them out one or two at a time. If you do this effectively, you can clear out the whole area of them and be left with only one large patrol that is moving in front of the three portals (points A, B and C) you want to destroy. You can either:
 * Time the patrol and destroy the portal after they leave tackling only the Portal Wraiths.
 * You can lure the patrol and engage it. Then destroy the portals at your leasure.

After destroying the portals, you will see a cutscene where the Lich Lord will seem to be having a good time, he will then introduce you to Undead Prince Rurik. The key here is not to panic. If you stay where you are or back off a bit, you will be attacked by four Hands. Call them out one target at a time and you should be fine. Next, either lure the four Fists on the other side of the ramp, or just have a Ranger lure Rurik himself off the ramp down to you (he has two Sparks with him).

Rurik takes a lot of damage but is not a big threat. Make sure to kill the two Sparks and you will be off to another cut scene. (If you kill Rurik and the Sparks, the Fists will go away.)

Now, cross the bridge and go full circle back to where you began. There, at the bloodstone, you will confront the Lich Lord. You must kill him twice to charge the Soul Batteries and close the Door of Komalie. He is not an overpowering foe, but he does a few annoying things that make killing him harder than it otherwise would be:
 * He summons one or two Hands every now and then. If you are not careful, they can cut through your rear and destroy your spell casters and Monks.
 * He teleports himself to the middle of the lava next to the bloodstone and then walks back to the center. This gives him a respite from the beating he is taking.
 * He teleports members of your party randomly into the lava as well.

With a little bit of organization and focus, he can be taken out. The one advice is to focus on him quickly and not be overwhelmed by the Hands and Fists he spawns.

Bonus
Acquiring the bonus in this mission is actually harder than doing it. To acquire the bonus, you need to follow the green path to point 1 on the map. At the point where the green path splits from the red one you will encounter a Burning Titan and a Titan Boss who will walk towards you, shouting strange words ("Shith Mal Hacto!"). This will summon all mobs from the immediate surrounding area to their position, clearing the path towards the bonus. Just make sure to stay well away from the now very strong group of opponents, who will slowly wander south-east.

At point 1 you will find a Burning Titan and an Ancient Seer who will give you the bonus. You need to take it slowly and make sure to take out the mob of Hulks and Sparks in front before coming near the Burning Titan and the Seer. Do not rush for the Seer. Upon approaching him the Seer will engage the Burning Titan. Although the Titan doesn't fight back, the Seer will take damage from Burning. If you didn't take care of the group of Hulks and Sparks when this happens the Seer will very likely die.

Speak with the Seer and you will get the bonus objective.

When you have acquired the bonus, you will find three Armageddon Lords in the pool of lava next to point 2. Their damage dealing capacity is very impressive, but they drop quite quickly so make sure to concentrate your attacks. The Lords are no bosses, but they will not spawn any Hulks, Hands or Fists when they die.

Beware of the spawning Fists and Hands that come out from the same lava pool and head to the portals. They can make an easy fight much more difficult. You cannot lure the Armageddon Lords very far away, so make sure the coast is clear before taking them on.

Bosses and Skills
The following bosses can be encountered during the Hell's Precipice mission:
 * Toritudo Probo (warrior): Eviscerate, Location: before or on bonus path (1) or near point A, B or C
 * Moles Quibus (mesmer): Panic, Location: before or on bonus path (1) or near point A, B or C
 * Maglio Liebens (necromancer): Aura of the Lich, Location: before or on bonus path (1) or near point A, B or C
 * Valetudo Rubor (ranger): Greater Conflagration, Location: before or on bonus path (1) or near point A, B or C
 * Scelus Prosum (elementalist): Mind Burn, Location: before or on bonus path (1) or near point A, B or C
 * Undead Prince Rurik (Warrior): Hundred Blades, Location: point D