Dunes of Despair (mission)



Objective: Help Ghost Hero recapture his throne and then defend him for 10 minutes.

Walkthrough
Follow the path and kill any Losaru you encounter. They come in groups of 3 (Four groups in total, three groups of Losaru Bladehands and one group of Losaru Bows). Near the Bows you will see a Siege Wurm firing at you from across the chasm (point A). Kill the group of Losaru Bows first (keeping your ranged people staying back) then move the ghost to the draw bridge to bring it down (the Ghost follows the person who spoke to him at the beginning of the mission). If the wurm is causing too much damage, simply scatter and wait for the bridge to lower. You will then be able to reach the wurm and kill it. Although the wurm will be continously attacking, a decent monk is enough to keep everyone alive. A henchman monk is usually sufficient.

Tip: Past the bridge, to the west (i.e right) there is a group of Losaru guarding a Slow Totem. The totem slows down enemies within the area where it is dropped. It is most useful for the bonus.

Continue south, and you will encounter a boss creature. After defeating the boss and its minions, a cutscene will take place. After the cut-scene, move the ghost back (have the person he is following speak to him and he will stay put). Have any range attackers kill the bows on the ledges on the sides of the bridge. Once they are disposed off, bring the ghost to the bridge and he will lower it. Do not go in past the door. Enemies will come out in pairs. Just wait for them under the arch. If you have picked up the totem, this is a good place to drop it. After the last wave (it's the group of 3 instead of 2), have the ghost stay on the bridge and defeat the ghost on the altar.

Bring your ghost near the altar to start his ritual. You will have to defend him for 10 minutes. 4 pairs of Forgotten Arcanists will appear. A pair from the east, then the west, then south, then the east again. It is easier if you wait by the altar and let them come to you. This also saves time from running from one battle to another. After defeating them, quickly rush to the south bridge and defeat the 2 incoming bows. Then head to the west bridge to defeat either a pair of Enchanted Hammers, or a boss group. After defeating this group, run back to the altar, and simply wait it out. The last group to attack the altar will be whatever it is you didn't fight at the west bridge. After which no other groups will attack. The ghost will sometimes cry about incoming enemies, but there really aren't any more. You should be able to do this in a little over 2 minutes.

Tip: Make sure not to worry about the Seige Wurms, they are a bother to kill, will distract you from your objective and their damage can be overcome with good healing.

Bonus
Do exactly the same as the above, but at the last part, after defeating the enemies at the west bridge, head out west. Wait for the incoming group of enemies. Do this or they will attack the ghost while you are out attacking the generals. With this additional step, you should still have around 7 and a half minutes.

Quickly head back into the fort, and head south using the south bridge. The first general should be visible. Stick together because there are bugs that pop out from the ground. Further south to the left and the right are the other 2 bosses and thier groups. You need to defeat their entire groups to complete the bonus. Ignore the group of arcanists on the side exits. They will run off to attack the ghost when you enter the fort. That means you have only a few minutes to defeat the bosses and their minions. Quickly run back to save the ghost to complete mission.

Alternative Method:

This requires a party with the following build:
 * 1) Two good monks.
 * 2) One powerful offensive tank.
 * 3) The remaining three have to be solid damage dealers.

After defeating the first four pairs, the party should divide into two groups:
 * One monk and the warrior stay with the Ghost.
 * The other monk with the other three head south to take out the bosses.

The Slow Totem should be with the warrior (keep carrying it and drop it when you engage). It will help the warrior stay alive. The plan is to have the group of 4 head out and destroy all the bosses at point 1 on the map (they will have about 8 minutes which is sufficient time), while just the warrior and the other monk remain behind to defend the ghost hero. In order for those two to have a chance, they should do the following:
 * The Warrior should bring forms of self healing to aide the monk in keeping him alive and should rely mostly on adrenaline based attacks and keep his energy for staying alive.
 * The monk should bring Life Bond which for high level monks means 30 damage off of any hit to the warrior (half of which goes to the monk) and he can then focus on healing himself from afar.

This ghost defending group should expect a trio of Forgotten Cursebearers and then another group of Enchanted Hammers and Enchanted Bows.