Abaddon's Gate (mission)

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

Primary
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. In total there will be six: two on the left, two on the right, and two in the center below his head. When players kill the pair of Monoliths by either hand, the shackles at that spot are renewed and the party gets a morale boost. If both hands are bound and players kill the third pair of Monoliths, Abaddon will become vulnerable for about 20 seconds. Do not pull the monoliths too far from their spawn points, or else killing them may not register properly, and they will promptly respawn instead of binding Abaddon. After this, he will break free to again become invulnerable, and the six monoliths will respawn. The process can then be repeated to damage Abaddon again.

While invulnerable, Abaddon will use his three skills.
 * 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.

Abaddon tends to use Corrupt Power while both hands are free, Earth Shattering Blow while one hand is free, and Words of Madness while both hands are bound. He doesn't entirely follow this, however.

These can cause quite a bit of damage to your entire party. Words of Madness affects all party members in the central corridor when it is used, and will be used a few seconds after Abaddon becomes vulnerable, in addition to when he is free. As such, the solution is to bring very heavy healing and condition removal in your party. Skills that heal or remove conditions from the entire party are especially useful. Cautery Signet, in particular, is great for clearing the dazed effect, as it both removes all conditions from the entire party, and is not made easily interruptible by dazed.

A Torment Claw will sporadically sprout from the ground in the middle of the party. These can be very dangerous if left unattended. Destroy these as soon as they spawn, and interrupt Torment Slash to prevent it from dealing devastating damage to your party. The spawn of a Torment Claw is most easily noticed by the sound they make. If unclear whether one has spawned, tab around a bit to see. Torment Claw spawning seems to be random, so far more will spawn in some mission attempts than others.

The basic cycle of the mission goes that you go to one hand to kill the two monoliths, then go to the other hand to kill the two monoliths, then kill the two monoliths in the center corridor, then attack Abaddon for a while, and then retreat back to one of the two hands to repeat. It helps to get away from Abaddon before the monoliths respawn, so that you do not aggro the pair that spawns nearest to him. Abaddon will not self-heal while invulnerable, so after completing this cycle several times, he should be dead.

Abaddon has very high armor, but can be handily destroyed with armor-ignoring damage. Hexes and conditions last a reduced duration, making many of them less useful than one might otherwise expect. You can take advantage of this reduced duration to quickly kill Abaddon with Wastrel's Worry, however.

If you fail this mission, it likely means that you either ignored a Torment claw, or (most likely) brought insufficient healing and/or condition removal. If having trouble, try bringing a lot more healing and condition removal than you think you need. Even with henchmen and heroes, three monks and two cautery signet paragons (such as Sogolon) should make the mission a cakewalk.

Bonus
Master's reward in this mission is obtained by finishing in 20 minutes or less. This is far longer than a party should normally need.

Hard mode
If both monoliths use their mesmer form at the same time, they can be a bit of a pain to kill over their Ether Feast healing amid constant disruptions of dazed, knockdowns, and Clumsiness. Still, with proper healing and condition removal, you won't wipe, and the time limit for master's reward is quite generous.

Creatures

 * Graven Monolith
 * Abaddon
 * Torment Claw

Entry cutscene
His power is that of a god, and his madness threatens to destroy everything.''





Dunkoro: It's a good plan.

Morgahn: Varesh's madness ends here.

Tahlkora: I've never fought a god before.

Melonni: There's a first time for everything.

Koss: Ready whenever you are!



Kormir: ''Yes. I think so.''

Kormir: ''Lead on. I will follow.''

Inside the mission
Kormir: ''All our efforts and sacrifices have brought us to this point. Now is the time for heroes. Prepare yourselves...today we end this nightmare once and for all.''

Kormir: Remember, we fight together...and not just for our own lives, but for the life of every man, woman, and child in Elona...for all the people of the world.

Kormir: ''We cannot fail. We shall not fail. March forth to victory, Sunspears! For Istan! For Elona! For the Five True Gods!''

Ending cutscene


Kormir: ''Incredible! All that knowledge!''

It will destroy everything!''

Kormir: I'm going into it!



Kormir: ''Yes I can! I can contain the power. This is the gift the avatars gave me!''

No!''

Kormir: ''You said it yourself - it's about a choice! A choice that only a mortal can make!''



Kormir: ''No. Yes. Kormir. And much more.''



Kormir: ''No. His power. His knowledge. But not him. His will is broken. There is a new god of secrets. There is a new day.''

Kormir: ''Nightfall has come and gone. I have much to do. . . Much must be repaired.''

Kormir: This will take you home, or to wherever you desire.

. .''

Kormir: ''Yes. Yes, I will, but for the moment you have your world back. The gods spoke the truth. It is your world. Use it wisely.''



Kormir: And remember my friend - you never fight alone.

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.
 * Return to Honur Hill and speak to Korvus to get the quest Norgu's Nightfall to see Norgu's play about your journey.