Abaddon's Gate (mission)


 * This is a mission entry. For more information about the location see Abaddon's Gate (Location)

Objectives
Destroy Abaddon.
 * Destroy the Graven Monoliths to power the chains of Abaddon.

Walkthrough
Players start in a dark corridor that turns right and leads to the chamber where Abaddon is held. Players will be able to see Abaddon's hands and his head. His wrists and neck are bound by magical restraints. As soon as players approach him, he will break free from his shackles and the objective is to bind him again and then weaken him.

At the end of every manacle there will be a pair of Graven Monoliths. So, in total there will be 6, two on the left, two on the right and two in the center below his head. When players kill a pair of Monoliths, the shackles at that spot are renewed. Once all three shackles are in place, Abaddon will be subdued for a short while (roughly 15-20 seconds) allowing players to be able to target him and damage him.

After that short period, Abaddon will erupt again and the party needs to repeat the same steps to be able to damage him. However, the challenge of the mission is not in destroy the feeble Monoliths, but in withstanding Abaddon's fury while doing it. While attempting to bind and damage Abaddon, players will be subject to the following skills used by the angry god:
 * 1) Corrupt Power: Skill. All foes take 30 damage 5 times over the next 3 seconds. Each strike also removes one Stance or Enchantment from foe.
 * 2) Earth Shattering Blow: Attack. All foes in the area of target take 100 damage and are knocked down. Surrounding foes also take 80 earth damage.
 * 3) Words of Madness: Skill. Target foe takes 120 damage, is knocked down and suffers from dazed for 10 seconds.

In addition, every now and then, a Torment Claw will sprout from the ground in the middle of the party. These can be very dangerous if left unattended. Patience is key as destroying these fragile claws is much easier than having the back line of the party take 100+ damage every few seconds. Make sure before destroying the two middle Monoliths and going for Abaddon that your retreat path is clear of claws.

Strategies

 * Health degeneration works very well against Abaddon, but beware that hexes and conditions last a shorter time.
 * You cannot target Abaddon when he is in an unbound state, so trying to interrupt the above skills is futile.
 * While bound, Abaddon will still use the Words of Maddness skill. So make sure your casters brace themselves and not waste the valuable window of opportunity to weaken him to this skill.
 * Group condition removal (such as Martyr, Extinguish and Cautery Signet) are excellent counters to the dazing effect. It's best to have at least 2 of these skills in the group, as the dazing effect refresh faster than any of these skill's recharge.
 * Mesmer skill Wastrel's Worry is very effective against Abaddon. Since Abaddon is considered a boss and hex last half duration, WW will trigger every one second or so, just enough time for you to recast them.  They stack up an incredible amount of armor ignoring damage.  Also be aware that WW drains energy fairly fast if you're spamming it. A full tank of 50 energy is not enough to keep the spam for the full duration while Abaddon is vulnerble.

Follow Up

 * Upon completion of this mission, players will be taken to the Throne of Secrets area to celebrate their victory as well as get access to special items and crafters. See the area article for details.