Critical Blowback

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Critical Blowback

Year
1325 AE
Storyline
Personal story
Chapter
The Battle of Claw Island
Location
Chantry of Secrets
(Kryta)
Level
60
Order
Order of Whispers (order icon).png Order of Whispers
Preceded by
A Light in the Darkness
Followed by
Retribution
API
294

Critical Blowback is part of the personal story for Order of Whispers characters. It is preceded by A Light in the Darkness and followed by Retribution.

Objectives[edit]

Defend the Chantry from Zhaitan's army.

  • Meet Trahearne at the Chantry of Secrets.
  • Search the Chantry for Survivors.
  • Speak with Demmi.
  • Clear the antechamber.
  • Examine the door mechanism, and gain entry to the inner annex.
  • Enter the central annex.
  • Rescue Preceptor Doern Velazquez.
  • Rescue Preceptor Halvora Snapdagger.
  • Rescue Preceptor Valenze.
  • Rescue Riel Darkwater.
  • Rally the Order in the central annex.
  • Arm the explosive devices.: x/5
  • Explode the bombs.
  • Defeat Admiral Feiste Bakkir.
    Event bar.jpg Event boss (tango icon).png

Rewards[edit]

Click here to edit the reward data

All professions
Profession-specific

Walkthrough[edit]

Following the warning from the Pale Tree in A Light in the Darkness on the imminent attack on the Chantry of Secrets by Zhaitan's army, the player goes to aid the Order of Whispers' at their headquarters.

The player will join up with Trahearne and Demmi Beetlestone to defeat the Risen and Order's defensive turrets in the antechamber before being able to proceed. The enemies in the antechamber are spread out into small groups fighting the turrets, the battle is not difficult if the groups are fought separately. The Order's turrets must also be destroyed to progress.

After clearing the Antechamber, Demmi will inform the player that the lockout system, designed by Lightbringer Tybalt Leftpaw, must be bypassed before they can find the Order's survivors in the Annex. This part is completed with a dialogue puzzle which provides 3 different ways of activating the gate to the annex. For the password option, it is "apples". For the override option, connect the red and yellow wires, then the yellow and blue wires.

The player will have to successively rescue each of the Preceptors as well as Riel Darkwater. Once a preceptor is rescued, more Risen will spawn, which the player does not have to fight. The Risen will largely concentrate on attacking the player's allies, each of whom have high survivability. Foes keep spawning until you find and talk to Riel who is in a marked tent.

After rescuing Riel Darkwater and witnessing a revelatory cutscene, the player will be asked to recalibrate the Chantry's failsafe bombs at 5 different control locations; small groups of 2-3 Risen will spawn as the player approaches each control panel. These do not have to be killed, although the player may need some healing. Following the recalibration, the player must activate the detonation panel, around which 4 Risen will spawn. Once the detonation occurs, all enemies will disappear.

A veteran boss, Admiral Feiste Bakkir, will appear after the detonation. The player can easily defeat the Admiral by allowing him to focus on the allied NPCs.

NPCs[edit]

Allies[edit]

Charr
Construct
Human
Sylvari
Various

Foes[edit]

Risen

Objects[edit]

Bundles[edit]

Dialogue[edit]

Approaching Trahearne:

Trahearne: Something's wrong. It's too quiet, even for the Order of Whispers.

Talking to Trahearne:

Trahearne: I hope we're not too late.
Talk quest option tango.png We need to hurry. The Order needs us.
Talk more option tango.png I see you're carrying Caladbolg. It's magnificent.
The Pale Tree told me to wield it with honor. I do so in her name.
Talk quest option tango.png We may need the sword's power. Come.
Talk more option tango.png How did the Pale Tree know the Orrians would attack the Chantry?
Talk end option tango.png I need to catch my breath. Hold on.
Talk more option tango.png How did the Pale Tree know the Orrians would attack the Chantry?
The Dream holds the memories of the sylvari race. Only the Tree sees them all. Where one of us might miss a connection, she can find the truth.
Talk quest option tango.png Let's go. The Order needs us.
Talk more option tango.png Is that Caladbolg you're carrying?
Talk end option tango.png Hold on a moment.
Talk end option tango.png Hold on a moment.

After talking to Trahearne:

Trahearne: The Chantry's greatest defense is its secrecy. Without that protection, all may be lost.
Demmi Beetlestone: Why are the alarms sounding?
Arcane Countermeasure: Override—protocol—engaged. Access—denied.

Cinematic with Demmi:

Demmi Beetlestone: Lightbringer! Thank the Six you're here. I was out on the beach, and I heard the alarms. Something terrible must be happening!
<Character name>: The Pale Tree warned us that Zhaitan's forces would attack the Order. It seems the Risen got here first and triggered the chantry's defenses.
Trahearne: If the preceptors are still inside, then they're trapped. The dragon's minions are single-minded. They won't stop until everyone inside is dead.
<Character name>: We have to get in there. Demmi, can you find the override?
Demmi Beetlestone: I'll do my best.

After the cinematic:

Demmi Beetlestone: I'll turn off the security system.
Demmi Beetlestone: Tybalt taught me a bit about thwarting these systems. Let me try a reboot…
Arcane Countermeasure: Restarting—Systems. Power—cycling—in—three…two…one… System—restore—complete.
Demmi Beetlestone: Hold your breath…this'll fix it, or it'll fix us!
Demmi Beetlestone: That should do it. Let's go!

Clear the antechamber:

Population Control Device: Intruder—alert. Intruder—alert.
Trahearne: Stay close, Demmi. We will protect you.
Demmi Beetlestone: Lyssa shield my eyes…so many dead…
Trahearne: Zhaitan's showing more intelligence. Striking at the heart of your order? It's almost unfathomable.

Talking to your allies:

Demmi Beetlestone: We can't get through that portal with all this mess going on.
Talk end option tango.png Then let's clear the road.
Trahearne: I do not think the turrets can be shut down. We must destroy them.
Talk end option tango.png Agreed.

After clearing the chamber:

Demmi Beetlestone: They're dead! Yes! Quickly, try the door to the inner annex.
Trahearne: The door's not working. Sealed from the far side, perhaps?
Demmi Beetlestone: Sounds reasonable. Hey, this locking mechanism was built by Tybalt!
Demmi Beetlestone: He probably put an override password on it. Any idea what he'd use?

Speaking with your allies before gaining entry to the inner annex:

Demmi Beetlestone: This is the door to the main annex. You've got the password to the lock, right?
Talk end option tango.png Um...password?
Trahearne: We must find the preceptors and destroy the Orrians, or the Chantry will be lost!
Talk end option tango.png That's exactly what we'll do.

Interact with the inner chamber control panel:

Inner Chamber Control Panel: This mechanism is Tybalt's work. There's a clear secondary circuit that needs some kind of activation element.
Ferocity Tybalt was a charr at heart. I can probably force the lock.
A small lever reads, "WARNING: EMERGENCY RELEASE."
Talk combat option tango.png Pull the lever. The player character gets knocked back and set on fire. The portal can now be accessed.
Talk back option tango.png Let me rethink this.
Talk end option tango.png I'll deal with this later.
Dignity Tybalt respected intelligence. Maybe there's a backup override system.
Inside the mechanism are red, yellow, and blue wires. Words are inscribed above them.: "Red, Orange, Brown."
Talk more option tango.png Connect yellow to red, then red to blue.
(attempt fails, see text below)
Talk more option tango.png Connect yellow to blue, then blue to red.
(attempt fails)
Talk more option tango.png Connect red to yellow, then yellow to blue.
The locking mechanism sparks, then hums to life.
Talk quest option tango.png Thanks, Tybalt.
Talk more option tango.png Connect red to blue, then blue to yellow.
(attempt fails)
Talk more option tango.png Connect blue to red, then red to yellow.
(attempt fails)
Talk more option tango.png Connect blue to yellow, then yellow to red.
The mechanism remains inert.
Talk back option tango.png Try again.
Talk back option tango.png Try again.
Talk end option tango.png I'll try later.
Talk end option tango.png I'll deal with this later.
Charisma Tybalt trusted very few people. Maybe there's a password.
Further searching reveals an alphabetical lock on the mechanism. It requires a password.
Talk more option tango.png Could it be "dragon"?
Talk more option tango.png Maybe "apples"?
The locking mechanism sparks, then hums to life.
Talk quest option tango.png Thanks, Tybalt.
Talk more option tango.png How about "legion"?
Talk more option tango.png Uh..."Tybalt"?
Talk end option tango.png I'll deal with this later.
Talk end option tango.png I need some time to think.

After activating the mechanism, but before Demmi finishes speaking:

Portal to Inner Chamber: Nothing happens. The portal isn't yet connected to the annex.
Talk end option tango.png Leave the portal alone.

After manipulating the control panel:

Demmi Beetlestone: The portal is one-way, for safety. Only the preceptors can open it from the far side.
Demmi Beetlestone: Once through, we won't be able to come back until we find them.

Speaking with Demmi:

Demmi Beetlestone: I'm scared, but... I'll manage. Let's see how the others are faring.
Talk end option tango.png Just stay close to me.

Interacting with the portal:

Portal to Inner Chamber: The portal is prepared, and ready to deliver passengers to the Chantry annex.
Talk quest option tango.png Travel through the portal.
Talk end option tango.png Leave the portal alone.

In the inner chamber:

Demmi Beetlestone: The Orrians have tunneled in through the walls!
Trahearne: We have to rally everyone together and make a stand. Hurry!

Speaking with Demmi:

Demmi Beetlestone: If we can find the Preceptors, they'll be able to make a plan. I [sic] just know it!
Talk end option tango.png We'll find them.

Rescuing the preceptors:

Doern Velazquez: Lightbringer! Damn good to see you. Quickly, we're needed in the main annex chamber.
Halvora Snapdagger: Flay me, but these undead are persistent! We'll meet you at the rally point.
Valenze: There are more agents in the side rooms. We need to gather them all!
Riel Darkwater: Rally at the center of the annex. We need to know who's still alive.

Speaking with the Preceptors as you rescue them:

Doern Velazquez: I'm glad to see you. Find the other Preceptors, and we'll make a stand in the center of the annex.
Talk more option tango.png How did this happen? How did the Risen get in?
They came up through the underground drainage tunnels. Slaughtered the guard. Just overwhelmed us.
Talk end option tango.png Hold this position. I'll find the others.
Talk end option tango.png Hold this ground!
Halvora Snapdagger: Find the other Preceptors! Gather the agents! I'll draw the Risen to me and keep them busy.
Talk more option tango.png What happened here? How did they get in?
They broke through an old gate below the chantry, right into our drainage system. Damn it!
Talk end option tango.png All right. I'll find the rest of the Preceptors.
Talk end option tango.png Good idea.
Valenze: I'm injured, but I can still fight. The archives! They ravaged the archives!
Talk more option tango.png The Order of Whispers archives?
That's where they came up from the tunnels. Blood, guts, disgusting stuff. I barely got out alive!
Talk end option tango.png Stay with the other Preceptors. They'll defend you.
Talk end option tango.png Get your wound tended, and stay with the others.

At the central Annex (cinematic):

Halvora Snapdagger: We thought we'd be safe in the annex. The portal was sealed, the corridor defenses activated—but the Orrians burrowed through the walls.
<Character name>: There must be some way to seal the tunnels so that the undead can't reach the chantry. Or some way to escape.
Halvora Snapdagger: Impossible. We're trapped in here. Prepare for your final—
Riel Darkwater: No Halvora, there is a way. During the chantry's construction, the Master of Whispers planted explosives in the island's foundation. A safeguard.
Riel Darkwater: If the chantry were seized by our enemies, it would be destroyed. To ensure secrecy, the preceptors were not told, though each Master of Whispers did pass the information on to their successor.
<Character name>: But if you know about it, Riel, that means you're...
Riel Darkwater: Yes, Lightbringer, I am the Master of Whispers.
Riel Darkwater: We must alter the device to detonate only the explosives in the Orrian tunnels, not those beneath this chamber. Lightbringer, this task falls to you.
Riel Darkwater: The rest of us will defend you—if need be, with our lives. Do not fail.
<Character name>: Yes, Master. It will be done.

After the cinematic:

Riel Darkwater: We'll hold them off as long as we can. Activate the device as soon as you're ready.
Valenze: More Orrians! To arms! Protect the Master of Whispers!

Speaking with your allies:

Doern Velazquez: I'm ready. I'll keep the rest of the initiates safe. My life on it, <Character name>.
Talk end option tango.png We'll get through this.
Halvora Snapdagger: Bombs are gonna save us? Hells and handbaskets. I suppose if I'm in, I'm all in. Do it!
Talk end option tango.png Keep your fingers crossed.
Valenze: A remarkable idea, directed explosives! Don't blow us up in the process.
Talk end option tango.png I'll try my best.
Riel Darkwater: Recalibrate all five bombs, then return to the central annex and hit the detonator. Regardless of what happens to us, at least those Risen won't make it out of here.
Talk end option tango.png If our sacrifice saves others, it's worth the cost.
Demmi Beetlestone: There are so many of them! I don't know how long we can hold out.
Talk end option tango.png Keep yourself together. We need everyone to fight.

Interacting with an explosive devices:

Explosive Device: EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS ACTIVE. INITIATE BOMB SEQUENCE?
Talk quest option tango.png Enter new coordinates and arm the bomb.
Talk end option tango.png Leave the device alone.

While arming the explosive devices:

Demmi Beetlestone: This is incredibly advanced. I've never seen anything like it!
Riel Darkwater: Stand together! Fight together!
Demmi Beetlestone: Almost there... Almost there...
Demmi Beetlestone: No! I won't let the Orrians destroy the Order!

Speaking with your allies:

Doern Velazquez: Set off the bombs! Even Balthazar couldn't hold out much longer!
Talk end option tango.png I'll handle it.
Halvora Snapdagger: Do it. Do it. Do it!
Talk end option tango.png Cover your ears!
Riel Darkwater: The detonator, Lightbringer! Use it now!
Talk end option tango.png Here we go!

Interacting with the detonation device:

Detonation Device: EXPLOSIVES RECALIBRATED. ODDS OF COLLAPSING MAIN CHAMBER: 50 PERCENT. CONTINUE?
Talk quest option tango.png I'll take that risk.
Talk end option tango.png Let me think about this a moment.

After the detonation:

Demmi Beetlestone: Did it work? Are we safe?
Riel Darkwater: The tunnels are collapsed.
Trahearne: Watch out! Something must have been close to the surface when the explosion occurred. It's breaking through!

Speaking with your allies before they fight Feiste Bakkir:

Doern Velazquez: Gather your strength, Lightbringer. We fight as one!
Talk end option tango.png For the Order of Whispers!
Halvora Snapdagger: One more battle. Just one more and the chantry survives. I've got the courage for it, but do I have the strength?
Talk end option tango.png Don't give up now.
Riel Darkwater: Do not stop until they—or we—are dead. For Tyria!
Talk end option tango.png For Tyria!
Trahearne: For Tyria, and the Pale Tree! We will not fail!
Talk end option tango.png For the Order!
Valenze: What is that thing? Keep it away from me!
Talk end option tango.png Don't worry. We'll protect you!

During the fight with Feiste Bakkir:

Riel Darkwater: Stand together! Fight together!
Riel Darkwater: Hold your ground! The order itself is at stake!
Riel Darkwater: Keep fighting, agents! It's getting weaker!
Riel Darkwater: You cannot defeat the Order of Whispers, dragon slave!

After defeating Admiral Feiste Bakkir (cinematic)

Riel Darkwater: Friends and companions, the day is ours! The Chantry is safe.
Riel Darkwater: We defeated these abominations because we fight as one. It's a proud day for the Order.
<Character name>: You're right, Master. Trahearne and I spoke with the Pale Tree. She said, "With unity, many impossible things can be achieved."
<Character name>: The Order of Whispers can't fight Zhaitan alone. We may have the resources, but we don't have the knowledge, and we don't have the army.
<Character name>: The other orders of Tyria are making futile plans to retake Claw Island. They will fail—unless we aid them.
Doern Velazquez: Speak one word, and the Priory scholars won't shut up for days. The Vigil's even worse—those thickwits can barely form complete sentences.
Trahearne: You're wrong Doern. They're different, yes, but both have their own ways of fighting Zhaitan. They could be our allies.
Riel Darkwater: There are risks, but if you're sure the others will cooperate...it could benefit us. I trust you, Lightbringer, and I trust Trahearne.
Riel Darkwater: Some years ago, he and I worked together to defeat my predecessor, who had been corrupted by the dragons. Since then, Trahearne has kept my identity a secret.
Riel Darkwater: Go to the others. Set up a meeting. Tell them that the Order of Whispers is stepping out of the shadows and wishes to collaborate.
<Character name>: Thank you, Master. I'll do everything I can.

After the cinematic:

Trahearne: I know so much about Orr—but I've done nothing to stop the devastation. Am I at fault?

Talking to Riel Darkwater at the end:

I knew that one day we would find our lives in your hands.
Talk more option tango.png How many know you're the Master of Whispers?
The preceptors, a few agents, and you. Trahearne, due to a strange twist in our past. No one else.
Talk more option tango.png Trahearne knew?
The master before me became corrupted; I had to put him down. Trahearne helped me save the Order of Whispers.
Talk more option tango.png So now you trust him with this information?
Trahearne put his life on the line for the Order. I've trusted him implicitly ever since.
Talk back option tango.png I have more questions.
Talk end option tango.png I do, too.
Talk more option tango.png Why are you so reluctant to trust the other orders?
Their methodologies seem self-destructive, and I don't like risking the Order of Whispers—not now. Not with so much at stake.
Talk back option tango.png I have another question.
Talk end option tango.png I'd rather risk this than sacrifice the world to Zhaitan.
Talk more option tango.png What's going to happen to the Chantry?
I need Halvora and Valenze to rebuild the Chantry's defenses and intelligence files. Doern and I will pick agents for this new union.
Talk back option tango.png I need to ask you another question.
Talk end option tango.png I'm glad to hear that.
Talk end option tango.png I'll do my best to live up to your expectations.

Talking to your other allies at the end:

Trahearne: Though the Chantry is safe, there is still much to do. Claw Island...and then Orr.
Talk end option tango.png We'll find a way.
Demmi Beetlestone: I don't understand. Riel is the Master of Whispers? She seemed so unassuming.
Talk end option tango.png Keep the secret. The order is counting on us.
Doern Velasquez: Damn good thing you were here, <Character name>. As for the Master...she's trusted you for some time. All that's changed is that now you realize it.
Talk end option tango.png I won't let the Order down.
Halvora Snapdagger: Burn me! Work alongside those bookworms and instigators? You've got a good track record for being right, <Character name>. I hope it continues.
Talk end option tango.png Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Valenze: Wise beyond your years, and brave, too! Thank you saving[sic] for my life.
Talk end option tango.png The order needs you, too. Remember that.

My story[edit]

Chantry of Secrets loading screen.jpg

I defended the Chantry of Secrets from the invading armies of Zhaitan. This victory at the Chantry has bolstered our confidence. Now, we take back Claw Island.

My story

Notes[edit]

At the very beginning of the mission, wait for Demmi to finish her dialog and move to the front of the side cave before talking to her. Make sure the objective "Search the chantry for survivors" is completed (will be second objective) when you talk to her. If you have talked to Demmi and opened the gate and the objective is not complete you will need to exit by jumping to a way point (costs money) or by re-logging(free) to reset the instance. Re-enter and try again. If this objective does not complete at the beginning, the mission will not complete and you may not progress in your personal storyline.