Fort Ranik (mission)

''For information on the Pre-Searing location, see Fort Ranik (Pre-Searing).

Objectives
Retake the Great Northern Wall.
 * Push back the invading Charr army.
 * Locate the Restraining Bolt and return it to Siegemaster Lormar.
 * Locate the Arming Crank and return it to Siegemaster Lormar.
 * Locate the Release Lever and return it to Siegemaster Lormar.
 * BONUS Rescue Deeter Saberlin from his Charr imprisonment.

Primary
This mission is straightforward until you reach the trebuchet. Near the trebuchet (and conveniently within range of their fire) are large groups of Charr; rushing in and aggroing them would be suicide. Talk to Siegemaster Lormar (B on the map). He will tell you that that the trebuchet is broken, but he can fix them if you bring him three working parts. Gather these parts from the wreckages (marked C on the map). After all three parts are returned and the ballista restored, fire it and watch destruction rain upon the fifteen-strong group of Charr right below the ledge you are standing on. Note that Lormar will not speak to you until all the Charr surrounding him are killed.

The second trebuchet is working (point D on the map). If you fire it quickly, you may be lucky and kill the final boss, completing the mission. Otherwise, it's a case of luring out the Charr into the blast pit of the trebuchet. If you approach cautiously, staying out of aggro range, the groups will come to the blast pit and stay there long enough to eat fiery death. This is actually made easier since the October 25th 2006 Nightfall features update, as you now can attract the Charr into the area by ordering your henchmen there, and then firing the trebuchet. You will need to resurrect them afterwards, of course...

Once you have a clear path to the wall, go marching in and kill the boss. Enjoy the ending cut scene.

Bonus
You get the bonus objective from Master Armin Saberlin after you clear the initial Charr platoon (including a boss). If Saberlin does not survive, you will not see the bonus objective in your quest log, though you can still get the reward. The bonus objective is to rescue Trooper Deeter Saberlin from his cage at point 2 on the map. His cage is guarded by two Charr Overseers who use Heal Area to keep each other alive. There are many strategies for defeating them – fight them up close to benefit from their heals, hex them with Backfire to neutralize the healing effect, interrupt their heals with knockdown attacks or Power Leak (which you can obtain from Vassar in an early post-searing mesmer quest), or improvise your own strategy.

Briefing
Briefing from Lord Darrin.

NPCs

 * 7 Lord Darrin
 * 5 Armin Saberlin
 * 5 Gurn Blanston
 * 4 Captive Soldier
 * 4 Siegemaster Lormar
 * 4 Trooper Deeter Saberlin
 * 4 Ascalon Engineer

Monsters

 * Charr:
 * 6 Charr Axe Warrior
 * 6 Charr Blade Warrior
 * 6 Charr Warrior
 * 6 Charr Fire Caller
 * 6 Charr Overseer
 * 6 Charr Stalker
 * 5 Charr Mind Spark
 * 5 Charr Martyr
 * Devourers:
 * 3 Plague Devourer

Bosses and Skills

 * 8 Spar the Ravager
 * 8 Klaww FeatherStorm
 * 8 Rrrack Whitefire
 * 8 Roarst One Eye
 * 8 Craze the Unforgiving
 * 8 Torch Spitfur

Cutscene Dialogues
When talking to Siegemaster Lormar for the first time:
 * Siegemaster Lormar: "Damn Charr snuck up while I was repairing this trebuchet. It's missing a release lever, a restraining bolt, and an arming crank. Search the other wrecked trebuchets to find those three pieces, and bring them to me. If you do, I can fix this little lovely, and we'll give those Charr a taste of their own filth. To activate the trebuchet after it's fixed, pull the lever once to load it and once again to fire it. Anything under its blast will get blown to bits. But hurry. More Charr come through the Wall every minute."

After finishing the mission:
 * Prince Rurik: "The time for action has come. No more cowering behind this wall. From now on, we take the fight to our enemies.."
 * Ascalon Guard: "Prince Rurik! Prince Rurik!"
 * Prince Rurik: "What is it?"
 * Ascalon Guard: "Prince Rurik. We are victorious, but it has cost us greatly. During their retreat the Charr took prisoners. Several of our wounded have been carried off."
 * Prince Rurik: "Ascalon will live in fear of these beasts no more. We march to the north, to free our brothers and take back that which has been taken from us."

Follow-up

 * After completion of the mission, you will be teleported to Frontier Gate.
 * To continue the storyline, take the quest Ruins of Surmia from Warmaster Riga

Exploits
This mission can be rushed, providing the rusher (runner) is equipped with running skills (e.g., Sprint or Dodge) and is strong enough to defeat the boss at the end. There appears to be no actual need to repair the trebuchet to complete the mission.

Once the rusher has reached the second trebuchet (point D on the map), and as indicated above, firing the second trebuchet should kill the final boss, thus completing the mission.

Should the second trebuchet fail to kill the final boss, there is a "false" section in the wall, NW of the second trebuchet, that will allow you to sneak past most of the Charr still remaining in the blast pit, and allowing quicker access to the final boss.

Additional Notes
The quest Deliver a Message to My Wife is found in this mission. Talk to Gurn Blanston to receive it. He can be found to the west of the first building up on the hill (A on the map).