Talk:Protect the Learned

Difficulty: Master - yeah, that about sums this quest up
I found that there were 3 groups inside the hall when I went to check it out (1 group on east side, 2 groups in library on the west). After killing these 3 groups, the quest log then stated there were still 9 groups left. I then went outside the hall, next to the res shrine. From that spot I set up a defensive line and took on the rest.

Somehow one ranger got past my line. I only noticed this as there was nothing left outside to kill (they spawn just past the chokepoint near the res shrine), yet the quest log still said 1 group left. I hightailed it into the hall, imagining a whole group was missed when I walked the hall. I got to where the scholars were just after the single ranger started attacking them (maybe 10 seconds later?). He had killed 3 before I was able to take over the fight from the very frail, yet insanely brave bookworms. Queen Schmuck 05:49, 20 December 2006 (CST)
 * BTW, do not use my above strategy if you are still working on your survivor title. It does work (as in, you won't fail quest), but you will probably die at least once (the E and Me mobs kinda tickle the spine a little).  The second time I do this quest, I will probably bring 2 healers and 1 prot, as I only took Mhenlo and Tah the first time.
 * One or two trappers will probably make short work of the mobs, as they are tightly packed and have to go through a small chokepoint to get to the hall.
 * Wild Blow helps against the rangers, but is not totally needed.
 * Bring lots of interupts for the various high damage spellcasters you will be dancing with.

Another Bug
Strangely, the quest didn't go for me as this claims. I was swamped by about 25 margs in one clump after talking to one scholar. After dying a few dozen times picking off margs, I talked to another scholar...and was promptly swamped by another set of 25 margs. --Carmine 04:22, 12 January 2007 (CST)

^Same for me It's gotta be bugged heres a 2 screen shots(Note: I have already killed a lot of executioners) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/TheDrD/Swamped1.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/TheDrD/Swamped.png -1/14/07 TheDrD
 * Don't think it's bugged on the mob size. I got swamped by a huge mob too. They probably updated it and made it more worthy of the "Difficulty: Master" (although the reward still sucks). I'll try again later, need more damage dealers. -- Ab.Er.Rant (msg Aberrant80) 09:24, 18 January 2007 (CST)
 * Woot! Finished it with me as MM, Margrid and Jin as barragers, Goren, Kihm, Mhenlo, Sogolon, and Cynn. -- Ab.Er.Rant (msg Aberrant80) 20:26, 18 January 2007 (CST)
 * I still think its bugged if you look at the previous talk they mention multipule gorups not 2 huge mobs

A few at a time
I know a lot of people have been having problems with this mission in its current state (03/07), I did too. I tried it a couple of times as the article suggests, going out to meet the Margonites, and each time got rapidly and hideously slaughtered as an ungodly large group basically insta-killed my entire party. So on the next try I ran around to alert the scholars and saved the two near Kachok for last. Then I stood in that area by Kachok and watched with ctrl/alt held down to see where the Margonites would come from and how many there'd be. To my surprise, none came. So I went down the righthand (as facing Kachok) set of stairs and creeped out until, with ctrl/alt (whichever it is that shows enemies), I could see the red labels of Margonites through the walls. I then backed up the stairs and waited until a bunch of Margonites (two groups) showed up. Killed them, and nothing more came. Repeated the same procedure on the lefthand side, then rinse and repeat as needed -- each time creeping out just far enough to be able to see the red Margonite labels through the walls. Going this way I never got hit with more than three groups at once and was able to finish the quest pretty easily. I've done this twice now, once by myself (derv/3 heros/4 henchies) and once with my husband and our respective heroes (ele/ranger/heroes), and it has gone basically the same both times. As soon as you get close enough to a group to be able to see them through the walls they seem to agro and come at you. As long as you retreat as soon as a group starts coming at you, you only get that group and any that were with it. As long as you only get 1 - 3 groups coming at you at once it's no biggie. -- 127.0.0.0
 * I just tested this tactic and it DOES work. The key seems to be this:


 * As soon as the last scholar is talked to, hidden triggers are activated inside the Halls. Whenever a player (not Heroes, as far as I can tell) walks across one of these triggers, one of the Margonite waves is triggered to start attacking. Therefore, if you've talked to the last scholar, then run forward to the front gate to do battle, ALL of the Margonite waves along the path you took are triggered and begin their assault, resulting in a single MASSIVE group that will overwhelm you.


 * Therefore, the key to beating this quest is to ensure that the last scholar you talk to is one of the closest to the rear of the Halls (either Scholar Belzar or Scholar Dakkun). Once that happens, wait until all of the scholars arrive at the rendezvous, then slowly move forward until you can see a Margonite group. As soon as you do, stop and observe them. If you see them moving, you've activated one of the triggers. Back up a bit and wait for the Margonites to arrive, then kill them. Once they're dealt with, start moving forward again slowly until you see the next group and repeat the process.


 * After you've cleared out one of the wings of the Halls, backtrack to the rendezvous point, and repeat the process on the other wing. If you've done it correctly, no more than 1 or 2 groups will attack at a time, and you should have no problems with the quest. - Zaxares. 21:42, 6th March 2007 (+10 GMT)


 * Note: Scholar Belzar seems to be bugged. He will not start moving to the rendezvous point until all of the other 7 scholars have been talked to. Likewise, the Margonites will not start spawning in until all of the 8 scholars have arrived at the rendezvous point. Be careful not to go running around the Halls, because if my suspicions are correct, even though the Margonites have not spawned, you can still activate the triggers that cause them to attack as soon as the 8th scholar is talked to. I therefore recommend that Scholar Belzar be spoken to last.


 * [[Image:User-Queen_Schmuck-Quest-Protect_the_Learned_-_Defending_Front_Entrance.jpg|thumb]]It appears that my way of dealing with all groups at the entrance to the halls no longer works? For historical reference, this is what it looked like when it did work.  Giving your minion master Light of Dwayna might help, or even Vengeance (in large groups you will probably die within 30 seconds anyway).  Queen Schmuck 17:05, 8 March 2007 (CST)


 * Nope. Think DOUBLE that number of Margonites. ;) All 12 waves of Margonites spawn at the same time now.


 * Just stick near the scholars, when nothing seems to come, walk to the first sets of stairs, that usually makes the first 4 groups (1 at a time) trigger, after that, you'll need to move a bit further to the middle, where the two bridges connect the two sides of the library. That's the next trigger point, and it makes 2 groups trigger, first at one side, and when you move to the other, then it triggers the same. That means there should be 4 more, and funny enough, these trigger at once when you get to halfway to the corridor leading to the res shrine in the library, and that group contained all 4 remaining ones. That's just me though.. BTW, a rit spirit spammer is the ultimate defensive weapon in these masters quests, just have shelter, displacement and union, that usually does the trick (doesn't have to be Razah, Margrid or Jin with the oath spammer build works great too). Slvrwolf 05:07, 3 April 2007 (CDT)

I've found that if I flag my hench/heroes back before the triggers that I'm more likely to get one group of Margies. If I don't then I'm more likely to get 2-3 groups, which like to rape me without using any lube. So my tips are these: For the first group, go to the NE stairs like in the article, flag your team at the top, and slowly walk down the stairs. Then inch your way to the next flight of stairs, keeping your eye on enemy troop movements. When they start moving, STOP, and wait. If they don't move any closer to you, inch forward again until they go on the march. Then backpedal back to the bottom of the first flight, and UNFLAG YOUR TEAM (very important! :P) Repeat on the other side (note: the SW side seems to trigger easier for some reason?). Then go back to the NE side and flag your team at the bottom of the stairs, near the bridge. Then inch your way towards the entrance until they move, etc. Repeat on other side. And just keep doing that. It's a looooong way to do it, but you're more likely to survive if you're only taking on 1 group at a time, if you're by yourself. Hope that helps! TTFN --Auden Klath (Dec 3, 2007)

Reject dialogue...
Anet humour is win <3 Copper Elf 13:51, 25 June 2007 (CDT)

Heros and Henchmen
Okay, flagging all the heros and henchmen at the margonite portal to catch them when they spawn doesn't work ... well it was worth a try :-) Bonsai nine 21:19, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Just completed this quest with h/h without any wipes and pulling. Brought triple necro sabway, 2 monks, earth ele and derv henchies. When the quest started I got terrible lag. In result, I had to deal with 2 rly big groups consisting of 4 and 6 normal groups from each side + 1 group of 2 normal groups standing far behind. First I went to the western path and killed the huge mob where 4 normal groups were. Then I ran to another corridor with 6 groups bunched up in one. That was the hardest part, they even killed olias and earth hench, but that wasnt much of a problem. The final part was 2 margonite groups standing(or moving) near the entrance, easily took em out. All schoolars were intact.IGN Rage Berserk --RageBerserk 16:56, 21 March 2009 (UTC)


 * this is the same way I did it - my W/Mo + Sabway Hero's + 2 Healers, Herta & Cynn. The First group from the S stairwell killed me and 2 of the hero's, but after that I just went down and hung out in the middle, taking on each group as it came across their respective carpet bridge. All 8 scholars intact ... Mauirixxx 01:17, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

How to do the quest
As the quest says, there are 12 groups of margonites that you must kill. They are spatially divided into four sets of three groups each. All of the mobs in the groups of a given set initially spawn near each other. Two sets are on each side, and all follow the path that a player would probably take to the NPC quest giver on a given side. One set is up quite a bit further than the other set on its side. Groups in the front set on the east side have 7-8 mobs each, while the rest of the groups have 4-5 mobs each. As such, you can take on an entire set of three groups at once, as it will be at most 15 margonites, unless it is the front group on the east side. You need to separate those groups so that you only get one or two groups at a time.

When you come close enough to a mob to initialize it, it will move to a particular spot on its side, toward the east or south corner of the enclosed area, and as far downstairs as you can be without leaving the Halls of Chokhin entirely. If all of the mobs in a group reach that spot, the entire group will come attack along its fixed route. The distance away from which a mob will initialize is substantially further than radar range, so you can't see mobs that you initialize until a while later when they come running at you. That makes it tempting to think you haven't aggroed anything, move up further, and aggro even more. That's how you get overwhelmed.

Start the quest by talking to the scholars in the order that the quest indicates. No margonites will spawn until you've talked to all eight scholars. After this, go down the set of stairs from the last scholar into the eastern room that appears dark with a blue border on the map. Press against the southeastern wall, near the south corner of the room, and stand there for a while. It will look like nothing happens, but you just aggroed three to five groups, so be patient.

About 2 1/2 minutes (yes, I timed it) after you get into the right spot, you'll probably see some margonites reach the edge of radar range. At this point, get back into the room and pick a convenient spot from which to fight them. Stay back far enough that you won't risk aggroing anything else that you haven't already aggroed. Most likely one group of eight margonites will come. Sometimes two groups totaling 15 margonites will come. Occasionally none come on that side at all. Kill whatever comes, then loop back around on the top floor to the south side, because all three groups from the front set of margonites on the south side are coming, whether you're ready or not. Get down into the dark room analogous to where you fought the first group and intercept and kill the 15 margonites.

Occasionally no margonites come even after 3 minutes on the east side. If this happens, the margonites on the south side will still come, so leave the east side alone and go to the west side to fight off the three groups over there. Return to the east side and inch forward slowly to try to get one or two groups to come, but not all three. Take your time, as if all three come, that's 22 margonites, and you're in trouble. It might be possible for this method to aggro all three groups on the east side initially, though I never saw that happen in ten tries. If that happens and you wipe, it was bad luck, so restart and try again.

Once you've killed the first three groups on the south side, loop back around on the top floor to the east side to clear whatever remains of the first three groups. Flag henchmen and heroes at the top of the stairs (on the stairs, not just in front of it, so that the stairs won't block their attacks) while you run down to the bottom of the stairs somewhat past the bridge ramp that connects the two sides. This should aggro the rest of the front three groups on the south side, so get back to the top of the stairs and wait for them.

Loop back to the south side and repeat what you just did on the east side to pull and clear the back set of three groups on the south side. This will be fourteen mobs in total, and easily manageable with the height advantage of the stairs, even if you pull them all at once. If not all three groups come, move up somewhat further and try again.

Finally, go back to the east side to pull the remaining three groups. Take your party across the bridge to the platform in the east corner of the Halls of Chokhin. If you pull the remaining three groups all at once, it's only 13 margonites, and if you don't pull all of them, it's only that much easier.

As for the margonite battles themselves, warlocks are the top prority to kill (as well of silence is annoying) followed by clerics. No other margonites are particularly obnoxious, though I tend to go for sorcerers and seers next because they die fast.

As for builds, take whatever standard anti-margonite build you've come up with by this point (e.g., what you used in Nundu Bay or Jennur's Horde). Nothing special is required for a build here. Depending on my own class, I brought some three out of Razah (restoration ritualist healer), Norgu (domination/interrupt mesmer), Olias (curse necro with a couple of wells), and Margrid (heal as one ranger with a pet and some interrupts). For henchmen, I used Mhenlo, Kihm, Sogolon, and Odurra. Again, you could probably use lots of other combinations of heroes, builds, and henchmen and do fine, as the quest is about pulling, not about builds.

Once I figured out the strategy, all ten of my characters did the mission successfully with no failures. I'm not sure if I even took any deaths in my party out of those ten consecutive attempts, but if I did, it wasn't many. Never was I in serious danger of a wipe. Quizzical 07:36, 4 August 2009 (UTC)