Gate of Madness (mission)

Objectives

 * Travel to the Temple of the Six Gods
 * Close the torment rifts by slaying the portal wraiths. # of 5 rifts remain open.
 * Activate the shrines to the Five Gods to aid you in battle.
 * Destroy the Undead Lich and Shiro Tagachi.
 * *Bonus* Rally the god avatars.
 * You have rallied # of 5 god avatars.

Rewards
In this mission, the rewards are based on how many shrines to the five gods you have captured at the end of the mission

Walkthrough
You must first get to the area where the shrines are. Follow the ravine on this map. You'll encounter two groups of Margonites with High priests in each group. Then when you get close to the bridge, to your left hand side you'll encounter three or four pop-up Torment creatures. Traverse the bridge. In the middle you'll encounter two sets of two Titan Abominations (Warrior) spread apart in the middle of the bridge. When the Titan Abominations are destroyed, they turn into Pain Titans (Fire elementalists), which turn into two Madness Titans (Dervish) for each Pain Titan killed.

After you pass the two Titan groups towards the end of the bridge wait and watch for the two big groups of Tormented patrolling the area. Wait for the groups to spread apart, and follow the group on the right closely; but do not aggro them! They will make their way up a hill. When they do this, stay close to the right side and move past them. You'll be making your way towards a group of Margonites with a High Priest in the group. Another group of Tormented with a Word of Madness that comes randomly on the left that will also be patrolling the hill. Again, stay to the right hand side and you should be able to take on the Margonite group by itself. Then take on the Tormented group when it comes back down the hill. It is possible to avoid the group of Margonites that you followed to this area by watching their patrol. Note: It is possible to avoid the Tormented group completely by flagging your team in the spot that you killed the Margonite group.

After you eliminate the Tormented group you'll encounter two Torment Claws; and if you get close enough, you'll get 3 Scythe of Chaos pop-ups near them as well. Keep making your way up this hill and follow it all the way to the gate which Shiro (an antagonist from Factions) is standing behind. He will leave and the gate will open and three Shiro'ken will pop up in front of you. When you take out the first three another group of three Shiro'ken will pop up which include a Ritualist. Kill this Shiro'ken first. You'll also notice another group of Shiro'ken behind you. Don't worry about them. Just keep moving forward through the gate after you dispatch the two groups in front of you.

ALTERNATIVE: ''Once you kill the Tormented claws, have everyone in your party run half way down the hill (back the way you came). One party member should then go up the hill towards the gate to trigger Shiro's speech then run back down to the rest of the group (ignore the pop-ups as they won't follow you far). Wait until the patrols walk by. Once they have moved on, continue down the path to the right through the gate (run by the Ranger Spirit that may be there) towards the chaos rifts.''

Once through the gate, the Lich Lord (an antagonist from Prophecies) speaks, five chaos rifts open, and a number of enemies spawn. Don't be too quick about moving into this area until the rifts have formed. Each rift, like in Prophecies, is defended by three Portal Wraiths which must be defeated for the rift to close. Enemies, such as Margonites, appear from these portals and will continue to do so while the portal is open. Close all of the portals. When the Lich speaks stay to the right hand side, but take it slow. You want the Portals to open up first, and then let the enemies set in their patrols. This is easier than trying to take all of them on at once. Taking the portals out counterclockwise is an easy way to mop up this part of the mission.

Portal #1: Stay to the right and you'll come across the first rift, it is possible to pull the Portal Wraiths from this portal towards the wall you're hugging, thus avoiding the Tormented that patrol the same area which spawn from the Portal across from where you are. After you dispatch the Portal Wraiths the portal will close thus giving you a morale boost. Careful timing can get you past the two Tormented without aggro but you must get very close to the next portal to ensure they don't hit you from behind.

Portal #2: Continue towards the next portal which will be mixed with the Portal Wraiths and about five Margonites which patrol the area. Take out the Portal Wraiths FIRST to ensure no respawn of the Margonites happens, then any Monks that might be in the Margonites group.

Portal #3: This portal can be taken a few different ways. It is guarded by an Armageddon Lord and about three Tormented. It is possible to PULL the Titan Armageddon Lord (Elementalist) away from the portal towards the portal you just closed. When you dispatch it, it turns into a Risen Ashen Hulk (Necromancer), then into two other Titans--a Hand of the Titans and a Fist of the Titans (both are Warriors.) Then, after you dispatch all of the titans, run and take out the Portal Wraiths. You should have enough time to do this before another Armageddon Lord respawns. Then take out the Tormented. The other way to go with this portal is to watch the two patrols. Sometimes the Armageddon Lord and the Tormented get mixed together in the same group. If this is the case, watch the patrol and when they walk away from Portal #2 go take out the Portal Wraiths or pull them towards you. (You might not have enough time to pull them but you should be alright even if you come under attack by both patrols.)

Portal #4: Watch the group of Margonites that are patrolling. They give you a nice window to slide into the back and behind the Portal Wraiths on the right hand side. This small area should be a good resting point for regeneration and regrouping. Take out the Portal Wraiths when you feel comfortable. The Margonites should pose you little threat even if mixed with the Wraiths. If you have any death penalties, this is a good time to recover from that as well. Park outside the range of the Portal Wraiths and kill Margonites until you're back to even.

Portal #5: Has two patrols: one of Margonites and the other of two Titan Abominations. This portal goes down easy if you pull the Titan Abominations (Warrior) towards the portal you just closed. Remember that these Titans break down to Pain Titans (Fire Elementalist) and Madness Titans (Dervish). After you dispose of the titans you should have enough time to wipe out the Portal Wraiths before anything else comes out. Near the portal itself you might encounter a Tormented claw. If you don't want to fight it pull the Wraiths away from it. The Margonites will more then likely be mixed with the Portal Wraiths. Once again, you need to dispatch the Wraiths first. This should not be a problem. However, if you decide to fight the Tormented Claw and the Portal wraiths under the portal, you risk aggro with another group of Tormented. So pulling the Wraiths is much easier.

As you close the last portal, a door opens allowing you to approach the area where the five god's shrines are. BEFORE you go toward the now open door where the Five Gods Shrines are--rest, regenerate, and heal. If in a group of people, make sure everyone is on the same page on how to proceed. Unfortunately, this area is defended by both Shiro and The Lich. Take out the Lich first, ignoring Shiro for the meantime.

Killing The Lich: There is an easy way to kill the Lich without involving Shiro. The entire party should wait outside the open gate so that their aggro bubble just reaches the gate, this means flagging Heroes. Have ONE person go through the gate SLOWLY and hug the right wall. Inch forward ever so slightly, continuing to hug the wall, until you see the Lich say "Fear My Power!" then slowly move back towards the group making sure to keep the Lich aggro'ed and drag him back to the gate. Shiro should stay where he is. When the Lich gets to the Gate, pummel him. He should go down easy, and Shiro will just stand there.

Capping the Shrines: Once the Lich is destroyed, start capping the shrines of the Five god's to gain their blessings which will help you tremendously against Shiro and help you obtain the bonus for this mission. Each Shrine has about two to five Margonites guarding them. Make sure your whole team gets in capping range of the shrines before attacking anything. While capping the shrines keep away from Shiro. Don't let him touch you. And if he gets close to you, run away from him. Flaggng Heroes around the Shrine area is a good way to stop them from attacking him. Be sure to kill all the Margonites that guard each shrine or they will re-cap the shrine as you run to the next. You will notice that Abaddon's shrine is in here as well, stay away from it, for it cannot be capped. Note: Moving your entire party to the very back of the shrine (first two on the right side only) will break aggro from Shiro. You can use this tactic to rest and regenerate before moving on to the next shrine.

Killing Shiro: Once you have capped the five shrines, you'll have a ton of blessings on you. Run out of the open door that you came into the temple from until Shiro breaks aggro from your group. The doorway itself is typically the aggro point for Shiro to chase you. If you set your tank in the doorway, Shiro will come attack your tank. The rest of the team should spread out around the door way. A second tank or even a Dervish can help the main tank out, but it is normally easier for one person to tank Shiro because of his life stealing skill Battle Scars. The reason you want to spread out around the doorway is because Shiro will shadow step in the middle of large groups using Riposting Shadows and then throwing Battle Scars out, thus regaining all the life you just worked off of him. It is important that the tank stays in the doorway. This will keep Shiro from running away and regenerating his life. When Shiro shadow steps into the other part of the group, run away from the door a bit which will cause Shiro to break aggro and cause him to go back to the tank in the doorway. Be sure to not run too far so the healers can heal the tank. When Shiro gets below 50% health he does not use his shadow step skill as much--if at all.

Another, less popular option is to simply lure Shiro first because he has a slightly larger aggro radius than the Lich. However, activating the gods' altars can be difficult, as the Lich does 200+ damage every attack. If you kill Shiro first and still want the bonus, the only option is to have one person kite the Lich while the others awaken the gods.

Alternative with Henchmen: As most suggestions involve at least two players reacting and thinking at the same time, many (including myself for about 10 tries) have problems with pure ai parties. An easy solution, although forfeiting the bonus, is to cap the first two shrines (starting from the right and going anti-clockwise). These have the advantage of offering anti-aggro zones at the back. The party should consist of two monk heroes (heal and prot) and a warrior such as Koss. the remaining party needs another warrior (i.e. Devona) and some ranged damage (such as Aidan and Cynn) to cover for possible warrior deaths. Odura, the mesmer, comes in handy for the whole mission. Having killed the Lich as suggested above, flag the party to the back of the first shrine, taking out the margonites whenever Shiro is far enough away. Repeat with the second shrine and heal. Then aggro Shiro, staying as near to the back of the shrine as possible. When his health is down under 30% he will start using that dreaded skill. Keep your mouse over the party flag and as quickly as possible move the group to the back of the shrine as soon as Shiro activates, thus breaking aggro, ressing as needed. When the skill is over (disappears from under his name) re-aggro. Repeat as necessary and he should go down in no time. Again, the secret lies in (1) flagging the party to safety whenever Shiro activates and (2) avoiding mad flagging running away from him due to broken aggro. Possibly, the master could be gained (untested) by starting with the left shrine and working clockwise, thus ending at the safe shrine, but enjoying all the boosts and the master title. Good hunting! Ashka Taan, July 20th 2007.

Bonus
The bonus for this mission is to capture the shrines to each of the five gods (all but Abaddon). As you rally each of the gods, they will reward you with Blessings that will help you fight the bosses. While you control a certain god's shrine, you will receive all the generic blessings from that god, as well as the ones that increase your primary profession's attributes. If you lose control of a shrine, you will lose those blessings; however, as long as you have all 5 shrines noted as captured in your quest log, you will get the Master's reward regardless.

Allies

 * 20 Kormir

Monsters

 * Torment Demons
 * 28 Blade of Corruption
 * 28 Arm of Insanity
 * 28 Word of Madness
 * 28 Herald of Nightmares
 * 28 Shadow of Fear
 * 28 Rain of Terror
 * 28 Spear of Torment
 * 28 Scythe of Chaos


 * Margonites
 * 24 Margonite Executioner
 * 24 Margonite Bowmaster
 * 24 Margonite Cleric
 * 28 Margonite High Priest
 * 24 Margonite Seer
 * 24 Margonite Warlock
 * 24 Margonite Sorcerer
 * 24 Margonite Ascendant
 * 28 Margonite Patriarch
 * 24 Margonite Reaper


 * Shiro'ken
 * 28 Shiro'ken Warrior
 * 28 Shiro'ken Ranger
 * 28 Shiro'ken Monk
 * 28 Shiro'ken Mesmer
 * 28 Shiro'ken Necromancer
 * 28 Shiro'ken Elementalist
 * 28 Shiro'ken Assassin
 * 28 Shiro'ken Ritualist


 * Titans
 * 28 Hand of the Titans
 * 28 Fist of the Titans
 * 28 Titan Abomination
 * 28 Risen Ashen Hulk
 * 28 Armageddon Lord
 * 28 Pain Titan
 * 28 Madness Titan

Bosses

 * 28 Champion Puran - Magehunter's Smash
 * 28 Curator Kali - Invoke Lightning
 * 30 Lich Lord
 * 31 Shiro Tagachi

Follow-up

 * You are transported to Abaddon's Gate (Location) to confront Abaddon himself.

Tips for Defeating the Lich
The Lich is relatively easy to kill. He is weak to holy damage, water damage, and to fire damage (50 AL vs fire). He will not withstand focused fire from the team. Take care as he can hit hard and has some area of effect damage.


 * The Lich deals AoE damage through Life Vortex, but it is currently unclear how large the radius of this skill is.
 * A Dervish planning on dealing scythe holy damage to the Lich should consider using Avatar of Balthazar over Heart of Holy Flame, as the Lich can remove enchantments with Hunger of the Lich.

Tips for Defeating Shiro

 * As a general unfortunate note, most of the following tips involve skills you won't find in the Nightfall campaign, especially in regards to necromancers.
 * A Necromancer carrying Spoil Victor or Spiteful Spirit, Insidious Parasite, Cry of Frustration, Complicate, Price of Failure, Web of Disruption, and Energy Management spells can be used to ensure victory. Not only would he deal tremendous damage by spamming Spoil Victor or Spiteful Spirit and Insidious Parasite, it will nearly nullify the benefits Shiro gets from Battle Scars, and use Shiro's extremely dangerous Impossible Odds skill against him. Awaken the Blood also makes a good opener to boost curses by +2 for a little extra punch.
 * Kill Lich first always, if engaging both at once, and when down to the center spread out your monks. Make sure you use the hit and run strategy to avoid major damage, but not too often as his health regenerates at an abnormal speed.
 * Shiro's skills are the same as in the final mission in Factions, minus Meditation of the Reaper and Echoing Banishment.
 * Elemental and physical damage are not enough—hexes and conditions are the key to killing Shiro quickly, as well as stance ending skills to remove Battle Scars to stop him from healing.
 * Use stance ending skills, such as Wild Blow and Wild Throw immediately, to remove Battle Scars. This skill is extremely dangerous in conjunction with Impossible Odds, in addition to healing Shiro at your expense.  Hexes such as Spiteful Spirit, Insidious Parasite and similar can be effective in negating any benefit Shiro gets from Battle Scars, so it may be better to focus on ending Battle Scars over Impossible Odds (Impossible Odds is a skill, and cannot be ended, but can be interrupted).
 * If using the anti-melee hexes mentioned above, such as Empathy, Insidious Parasite, Spiteful Spirit, etc., remember that Impossible Odds will remove a hex, so a cover hex is a must if you hex Shiro before he uses Impossible Odds.
 * Stay clear and spread out when Shiro is low on health, because this is when he uses Impossible Odds. This does a lot of area-of-effect damage in a very short time, and can easily wipe out the party. Skills like "Watch Yourself!", Aria of Restoration, and Aegis are useful here. Protective Spirit and skills like Shield of Regeneration and Shield of Absorption that boost health regen, lower damage or raise armor will also help.
 * Impossible Odds can be interrupted but it is difficult to do so. Heroes and henchmen have a better chance than a human. There has been a successfully-tested heroes and henchman only team build on this map, using these instructions and using other health hex skills.
 * Try focusing Shiro on a blocking tank: negating most attacks limits damage but more importantly negates the effects of Battle Scars. An assassin using Way of the Assassin and Critical Defenses may be incredibly efficient for this. An assassin can also use Wild Strike to end stances making him/her even more useful for this mission. Combine this with Price of Failure and Spirit of Failure and Shiro might only strike the occasional blow.
 * Consider waging the combat at the temple door. This is about the limit up to where Shiro will follow you. Run outside the temple before actually engaging Shiro and prepare yourself for the coming battle. You may find useful to disable some useless skills on your heroes at that time to ensure they only use the critical ones. You should pre-position you team around the door (uses flags for heroes), spaced on a quarter-circle to minimize Impossible Odds effects. Place a tank at the door itself to provide a target within reach for Shiro and who will more or less anchor him. If you feel things are going badly, you can also easily run away. This strategy should also work with only henchmen and heroes. If not at the temple door, then wage the battle in the middle of the temple. There you can spread out sufficiently and sometimes confuse shiro on who to attack, as he will start to go one way and then decide to go the other this can prove very useful if your party is in danger and trying to resurrect everyone.
 * Skills like Hidden Caltrops and "You're All Alone!" tend to confuse and devastatingly hinder Shiro's abilities.
 * If the monks focus solely on healing or protecting and stay back from the fight without attacking with wands or staves, they won't trigger a counter-attack when Shiro uses Riposting Shadows.
 * Even if Impossible Odds is interrupted or ended, Shiro still attacks fairly quickly. Bringing Essence Bond or Balthazar's Spirit will help with energy management and give extra adrenaline if a warrior with a monk secondary maintains them on himself.
 * As Shiro loses aggro near the door, it is possible to perform hit and run attacks. Simply retreat whenever Shiro gets into melee range and engage him after he retreats.
 * Ward Against Melee and Ward Against Foes are useful, especially if you're planning to capture the shrines for the bonus.
 * An Earth Magic elementalist makes the battle against Shiro much easier. After capturing Melandru's shrine, you gain, among others, the blessing Shielding Branches, offering you +20 AL vs elemental damage. By using this in conjunction with Stone Sheath and Ward Against Elements, you can render Shiro's attacks almost completely harmless.

Tactics to Avoid:


 * Skills which disable target foe's skills, such as Blackout, do not work on Shiro as monster skills cannot be disabled.
 * Conditions, such as blindness, are good but Impossible Odds allows him to spread these back to your team. Use with caution.
 * He cannot be knocked down.
 * He is not affected by Lightbringer's Gaze.