Ruins of Morah (mission)

Prerequisite
Primary Quest:Horde of Darkness

Mission Objectives and Rewards
General Morgahn must be in your party to enter this mission.

Objectives

 * Kill Varesh.

Walkthrough
The mission consists of 2 parts:

Part 1
Varesh will spawn as Prophet Varesh, a Level 29 Dervish, along with three Margonite Clerics.

Varesh possesses three powerful skills:


 * Earth Vortex: First frequently used skill, dealing 15 earth damage every second to everyone in the area around Varesh for 30 seconds and will knock down foes using skills. Although as of now this spell does not have an effective knock down, it will interrupt any foe in the area using a Spell or Signet. However, you can use Attack skills freely.


 * Frost Vortex: Second frequently used skill, dealing 50 cold damage every 3 seconds to foes around Varesh and will slow down moving characters by 90% for 10 seconds during the 30 seconds it lasts.
 * You can not interrupt this skill with soft interrupts, for it is an Attack. Use Clumsiness or Spinal Shivers to interrupt it.


 * Enchantment Collapse: Varesh will cast this Hex Spell on characters with Enchantments on them. When the target loses one Enchantment, it will lose every Enchantment.
 * Tip: Because this is a Monster Skill, Inspired Hex (or Revealed Hex) will not function normally when used to remove it. Instead of being replaced by Enchantment Collapse, Revealed Hex will instantly recharge instead, allowing one to strip her hexes off of many people very quickly, and for nearly free even with no attribute points in Inspiration Magic.

Kill the Margonite Clerics first, then take down Varesh. Although it is possible to pull Varesh without aggroing the Margonite Clerics, it is not recommended, as Varesh will respawn and bring many other foes with her.

Part 2
Varesh will respawn as Commander Varesh, Paragon at level 30 with many other enemies. There will be additional spawns after the first ones.

Varesh's skills will be:
 * Call of Sacrifice: Target foe loses 20 health every second for 20 seconds or until the target is at 20% health.
 * There is an error in this skill's description. Rather than 20% health, characters lose 20 health (not percent) per second.
 * Enemies Must Die!: All mobs target one player.

Strategy 1

After you have killed Varesh the first time, pull back to the point where you spawned. It is possible to pull the spawns one or two at a time without getting aggro from Varesh. Proceed to kill the spawns and the additional spawns that arrive, until only Varesh is left. Without the other mobs, Varesh is not challenging to kill. This method is fairly straightforward with a human party, but it is recommended that henchmen be flagged near the spawn point at the start of the mission. Mobs can then be easily pulled one by one, afterwhich Varesh can be fought alone. This method is highly recommended if you are just using heroes and henchmen and aiming for master's reward.

Strategy 2

Move to the far side, opposite of the point that you spawned, once you kill the first incarnation of Varesh. If you move to your original spawn point, the mobs will immediately wander towards your location then aggro your party, possibly overwhelming you. Moving to the location opposite your spawn point will keep you out of the direct path of the mobs that pop up. If you are using heroes & henchmen, be sure to lock their position at the top of the hill so that they do not wander down too far and aggro more mobs than you can handle. Take your time to clear this side of the caldera of wandering mobs. Once you have cleared the area, move your party location flag closer to the bottom of the caldera, and pull Varesh towards your party. There will be a group camped out on the map near your original spawn point, but as long as you pull Varesh towards you they will not aggro.

A faster, but more dangerous, variation is to move forward instead of pulling back and attack Varesh first. With many damage dealers in the party it is possible to kill her before your party gets overwhelmed. This tactic makes a master reward more likely, but you risk a complete wipe.

Whichever method you choose, it is helpful to bring multiple uses of "Shields Up!". As most of Varesh's minions, including Varesh herself, deal ranged piercing-type damage, Shields Up! will make you virtually immune to damage from attacks. Aegis is similarly helpful as it provides party-wide protection. Using this method, it is easy to stand your ground even under massive aggro and simply kill Varesh first.

Strategy 3

As of late, both stages of Varesh often have the tendency to aggro a group at the starting gate, or a few steps in front of it. Thus, it is possible to pull her away from the clerics at the beginning and kill her, then place all players directly against the starting gate. Then you can pull the torment creature spawns in the area, hopefully without aggroing Varesh, and then move approximately halfway down from the gate, where she will aggro again and can be easily defeated. Using this method, it is possible to beat Varesh within six minutes, well in the bounds of a masters, even with a party of heroes and henchmen. It would a lot easier if you bring most casters and one warrior. Because a lot of Varesh's spells are AOE (first form), all casters can stay back without getting too much damage on them. Three monks can keep one warrior full health all the time.

Strategy 4

This is method is designed for a hero and henchmen group. Bring Morgahn, a damage dealer, and either Olias, Master of Whispers, or Norgu as your heroes. Pick up Mhenlo, Devona, Kihm, and Odurra as your henches.

For the Mesmer or Necro hero, use 12 Curses and 12 Illusion and the "debuffer" skill set: Reckless Haste, Enfeeble, Clumsiness, Spoil Victor or Spiteful Spirit or Ineptitude, and Price of Failure. Only Enfeeble is truly necessary. For those that don't have Prophecies Enfeebling Blood is a suitable alternative. Turn off all skills other than Enfeeble and manually cast them as needed.

Begin by locking your debuffer hero onto Varesh. That hero will use Enfeeble to lower Varesh's damage enough that she is no real threat. While Varesh is running around after your henchmen, focus fire on the Margonite Clerics. When they are down start on Varesh. If possible keep the squishy henchmen away from Varesh and try to keep her aggro on your tank.

When she dies, flag your henchmen back to the gate. Follow the Strategy 1 above; kill as many demons as needed in order to pull Varesh alone. Again, lock your debuffer onto Varesh. Casting Clumsiness and Ineptitude inbetween Enfeeble is very effective in taking Varesh down.

Strategy 5

It is possible to kill Varesh with an 55hp Monk, Morgahn with any build, and a Spoil Victor Necromancer, preferrably with a minimal heal (i.e. Blood Renewal). The 55 Monk should take Inspired Hex for hex removal. The Frost Vortex is an energy management skill for the Monk, as it gives 2 energy a hit. Earth Vortex must be avoided at all costs.

General Tips


 * Lightbringer's Gaze now works on Prophet Varesh. Going in with a party using this skill will make the chances of getting Master's Reward much greater.


 * Inspired Hex/Revealed Hex are great counters to Call of Sacrifice, as they buy themselves out in terms of energy and are recharged immediately since Call of Sacrifice is a monster skill and therefore cannot be copied.


 * Spoil Victor is very effective against Varesh.


 * If you don't want to aggro more than the necessary one or two mobs of demons, make sure you fight as near the gate as Varesh will go and avoid having any tank (i.e. melee character) with you. In this way, you'll be able to avoid the other patrols which would delay you, and maybe cause you to fail the mission. Of course, if you're very heavy on the offensive, this may prove unnecessary.

Hard mode notes
Varesh is even easier to aggro in hard mode. With a little luck both Commander Varesh and Prophet Varesh can be pulled and killed without aggroing any of her minions. A three-man party (55 tanking/pulling Varesh, Spoil Victor necro and Morgahn) can finish the mission within five minutes.

Monsters

 * Demons
 * Margonites
 * 24 Margonite Cleric
 * 29 Prophet Varesh
 * 30 Commander Varesh
 * Torment creatures
 * 28 Arm of Insanity
 * 28 Shadow of Fear
 * 28 Herald of Nightmares
 * 28 Spear of Torment
 * 28 Rain of Terror

Follow-up

 * Upon completion of the mission players will find themselves in: Gate of Torment.
 * To continue the storyline, take on the following Primary Quest: Uncharted Territory.