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 its 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 the trebuchet is broken, but he can fix it 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 trebuchet 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. You can also 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, kill the Charr boss and his mob to end the mission. 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 bonus, so do not worry too much on keeping him alive. 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.

Hard Mode
It's best not to rely on just one character for healing, as the Charr mesmers have power block, which can easily leave you with no healers.

Hex removal is very helpful. Lingering Curse used by the Charr necromancers will make it difficult to keep the party healed effectively. Disenchantment spells are also useful to remove Shield of Judgment, though it works almost as well to simply switch targets.

The bonus is most easily done by separating the two overseers. Keep most of the party back while one character runs up to them, then runs away a bit so that they follow, and then runs back toward them. It sometimes takes a few tries, but if they stop separated slightly (it doesn't have to be very far), they won't heal each other with heal area.

Nature's Renewal helps immensely against both Shield of Judgment and the Curse Necromancers however it will require some coordination between team members.

Watch the patrol routes, as they can be complicated, however after you know them the first part especially becomes relatively easy. In particular, at the very start, don't run up to the NPC allies fighting some Charr, as a different group will come attack you. Hang back a bit and you only have to fight one group at a time.

NPCs

 * Human
 * 4 Ascalon Engineer
 * 4 Siegemaster Lormar
 * 5 Ascalon Warrior
 * 4 Captive Soldier
 * 5 Gurn Blanston
 * 5 Master Armin Saberlin
 * 4 Trooper Deeter Saberlin
 * 5 Ascalon Militia
 * 5 Ascalon Ranger

Monsters

 * Charr
 * 6 (23) Charr Axe Warrior
 * 6 (23) Charr Blade Warrior
 * 6 (23) Charr Warrior
 * 6 (23) Charr Stalker
 * 5 (23) Charr Martyr
 * 6 (23) Charr Overseer
 * 6 (23) Charr Ash Walker
 * 8 (23) Charr Ashen Claw
 * 6 (23) Charr Mind Spark
 * 6 (23) Charr Fire Caller
 * Devourer
 * 4 (22) Carrion Devourer
 * 3 (22) Plague Devourer

Bosses

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

Dialogues
Briefing from Lord Darrin.

Follow-up

 * Upon completion of the mission players will find themselves in Frontier Gate.
 * To continue the storyline, take the quest Ruins of Surmia from Warmaster Riga.