The Ruined City of Arah (explorable)

Key elements of this article are incomplete. You can help the Guild Wars 2 Wiki by expanding it.

“

There are great secrets to be had in the City of the Human Gods. The heroes must unlock these whispers of the past to find out about the races that survived before these modern times.

— In-game description

Dungeon information

Objectives

• Help the Pact investigate Arah.
  • Choose which elder race to investigate. Speak with Ogden.
  • Choose which researcher to aid.

• Discover the secrets of the Mursaat.
  • Meet up with Yissa's scouts
  • Belka
  • 
  • Continue the search for Mursaat artifacts.
  • Race against the Inquest for Mursaat Artifacts.
  • Defeat the undead temple guard.
  • Giganticus Lupicus
  • 
  • Alphard, Serpent of the Waves.
  • 
  • Stop the Inquest in their research of the Mursaat.
  • Operative Brie
  • 
• Congratulations! You've foiled the Inquest and found the secret of the mursaat[sic].

Reward

60 Shards of Zhaitan, 26 , and 1,880 are awarded upon completion.

Walkthrough

Giganticus Lupicus

The Giganticus Lupicus is a boss common to every route in Arah's explorable mode, located at the midpoint of each route. The fight takes place in a large circular area. Giganticus Lupicus has 3 phases and requires coordination and a good team setup with high toughness, vitality and defensive traits. During transition, Giganticus Lupicus will briefly turn invulnerable to signal the imminent start of each new phase and it is important that all team members react accordingly to avoid a bad start. Ranged weapons are preferable during most of the fight but melee weapons can help during phase 1. Using vitality or endurance food and exotic gear will increase your chance of success. Remember to slot gear, traits and utilities according to which phase the group is having difficulty with. If the group has difficulty consistently downing grubs in Phase 1, stun breaks and stability will help players get back on their feet to add damage to it.

Phase 1

In phase 1, Giganticus Lupicus spawns two different kinds of adds. A Locust Swarm which he spawns regularly and a less common Risen Grub. Locust Swarms are fairly fragile elite enemies that cause bleeding and do high melee damage, especially if allowed to accumulate in numbers. However, the main mechanic of this phase is based around the Risen Grub.

Once every few seconds Giganticus Lupicus will randomly target one player with a green plague aura, telegraphing the attack with an elaborate flourish that raising his hand over his head. At this point, the attack can be dodged. The appropriate time to do so is cued by Giganticus Lupicus' hand reaching the peak of his flourish. If not dodged, after a few seconds the player will be knocked down and a Risen Grub will appear on the position of the targeted player. If left untouched for a few seconds the Risen Grub will quickly move to Giganticus Lupicus where it will grow and be devoured. If the grub spawns close to Lupicus (from a player attempting to melee Lupicus), it may be devoured instantly. This will give Giganticus Lupicus stacks of armor and power for each Risen Grub eaten, making the deadliest phase of the battle that much harder. Individually, players can learn to recognize the distinctive plague aura and call out their status if the team is on voice chat. Resist the urge to leave the stack for any reason if so targeted. If anything, place yourself in melee range just in front of other players.

It is absolutely vital that this doesn't happen. Once a Risen Grub spawns, it must be killed within a few seconds. The grub is a normal mob and does not have much health, but it can be hard for the targeted player to do so without expending a stability or stun break to come out of knockdown. This requirement must be balanced with dealing damage to Giganticus Lupicus himself - the more slowly he is killed, the more times the grub mechanic must be dealt with. Most groups stack closely at a position within 1200 missile range of Lupicus. This results in a constant stream of damage to the main boss while making all the grubs spawn more or less on top of the party where it can be quickly dealt with. One simple and unambiguous way to do this is to have all party members call target and attack grubs as soon as they appear before retargeting Lupicus. Many classes can continue to hit Lupicus with white attacks while using ground targeted AoE and utilities to damage grubs and swarms without the hassle of retargeting. Another is to devote one or two members of the party to clearing both locust swarms full time with melee weapons and spiking down grubs as they appear. Warriors with the Fast Hands minor trait could easily do both.

It is also important that the party to kill locust swarms as necessary, not letting more than one or two accumulate. Locust swarms do enough damage that they can easily down a player and the resulting need to rez may snowball into disaster. Regardless, Risen Grubs should always have priority.

As noted, the grub spawning attack can be dodged - the appropriate time is when his hand reaches the peak of his flourish. If the entire party can do this reliably, this opens up the option of meleeing Lupicus during this phase, greatly increasing damage output. Under these conditions, summoned locust swarms are likely to be downed naturally before they can cause much damage. Of course, an error in evading the maggot spawn would result in the grub being eaten immediately. At melee range, Lupicus will add a highly damaging kick to his skill rotation that will need to be avoided as well.

Phase 2

Once the boss goes down to about 75% health he will go into phase 2 - the most difficult phase for most parties. Staying at maximum range is a commonly suggested tactic within Arah groups, for both phase two and three. Skills and traits that help with endurance regeneration or grant vigor, or endurance-restoring food, such as Bowls of Orrian Truffle and Meat Stew will help significantly for more fragile party members. Abilities with invulnerability frames such as blocks or dodge attacks, Aegis granting abilities and anti-projectile abilities will be invaluable here.

Before Giganticus Lupicus goes into phase 2 he will turn invulnerable for a few seconds. This is important because your party needs to spread out as quickly as possible during this short pause. He will typically summon one final Risen Grub and immediately proceed with either his shadow walk or his projectile barrage. directly on top of the scattered players. For unprepared groups this can result in the grub being consumed, or a complete wipe. Nevertheless, prioritize survival as a single grub will usually not make an unacceptable difference in the outcome whereas going down while trying to take out the grub can snowball into a wipe.

There are three mechanics during phase 2:

• A shadow walk attack that knocks down on hit and targets a single player.
• A basic single-target projectile blast targeted at nearby players.
• A large AoE barrage.

The shadow walk attack is one Giganticus Lupicus casts every few seconds. It lets Giganticus Lupicus quickly move to a certain player and perform a knockdown on hit. During the shadow walk Giganticus Lupicus turns mostly transparent and fires a plague projectile, teleporting to the plague once it reaches its destination. The basic defense against this attack is, of course, to dodge away. However, it is almost impossible to rely solely on dodging since his shadow attacks and projectiles will quickly wear down players without the vitality or toughness to survive getting hit by these attacks.

The second mechanic, the projectile blast is a single target attack that will regularly target any nearby players. It is telegraphed but very quick. However, it can be avoided without a dodge by switching directions.

The third mechanic of phase 2 is a multiple AoE projectile barrage that Giganticus Lupicus casts between shadow walks. This is by far the deadlier of his three attacks and the one that results in most parties wiping. The attack poses a threat over an extreme amount of space - well beyond that implied by its red circles - as well as time with projectiles (and red circles) appearing in at least two waves. It is also highly damaging with each shot dealing 8k or more damage. The success of the party hinges on its understanding of the attack and how to mitigate it. This attack is telegraphed by Giganticus Lupicus gathering green death energy and releasing a swarm of projectiles from a point above his head. The projectiles have significant flight time and will land in the red circles roughly in the order they appear and with damage generally radiating outwards from him over time. The more grubs are allowed through during phase 1, the longer and deadlier phase 2 will be.

To begin with, while the attack does produce red AoE warning circles, they cannot currently be relied upon. It is possible that, as projectiles, they hit players not inside the landing zone while weaving. It is possible that not all of the red circles that should be rendered are actually rendered. Regardless, even if standing outside of red circles when the shots land, you will regularly be struck anyway. In other words, passive defense by positioning outside of the AoE circles is ineffective as a defense. Rather than deciding where to dodge, the key is knowing when to dodge and avoid damage through the use of the dodge's invulnerability frames. Avoid the attack by being invulnerable when it hits rather than trying to avoid it by not being where it hits; at this point it is very difficult to judge the latter. Nevertheless, being outside of the red circles may get you out of trouble and is certainly better than standing defenselessly within one. For full effectiveness, do not panic and wait for the second wave of circles to appear. Unless you are very close to Lupicus, the projectiles will take some time in flight.

If Lupicus' target can survive, many players can spend the fight without direct contact with Lupicus and suffer only from his projectile attacks, making the damage they do the effective measure of health. It is rare for Lupicus to down players in a single hit unless projectiles overlap or too many grubs were let slip, on the other hand only the toughest characters could expect to survive more than four hits. For a more forgiving if lengthier fight, slotting enough toughness and vitality to survive two or three blasts is adviseable. As projectiles, the attack can be mitigated with any abilities that block or destroy projectiles - most notably the Guardian's Reflection Field. Any ability or weapon that grants invulnerability moves such as blocks, Mesmer's sword, Mist Form. Necromancer's death shroud will also effectively tank the attack with a pile of hitpoints but life force will need to be restored between uses. Teleportation skills can be used to get out of the danger zone (remember to get well away). Rallying and resurrection during this phase is very risky but nevertheless should be done - by a single player without direct shadow walk aggro from Lupicus. If party members are going down consistently, consider slotting ranged resurrection skills. If you are going down consistently, perhaps due to being Lupicus' designated hate target, there are foods to increase downed life that can greatly expand the window of opportunity for teammates to get to you. Finally, any abilities or consumeables that increase endurance recovery are also useful.

Phase 3

Once the boss goes down to about 50% health he will go into phase 3.

During phase 3 Giganticus Lupicus will start to attack players more directly and gains a lot of smaller spells listed below. Fortunately, this phase is much less difficult than the previous, though it can still be very dangerous if players draw too close.

• An AoE poison projectile from phase 2. Spread out and dodge it.
• A small poison AoE field that he places in front of him -- Lupicus will create a 'bubble' that traps its targets, knocks them down repeatedly and heavily damages them. It is very difficult to escape from without stability or blink abilities. This can be avoided entirely if the party remains at maximum range.
• A small missile barrage that he casts in front of him.
• A life drain spell that targets a player. Make sure to heal up. Dodging works well too, but don't waste dodges and pay attention to who he's targeting.
• A huge point blank AoE life steal spell, healing him 2000-3000 per second per player.

Lupicus tends to focus on one person at a time so the easiest way to deal with him is just to turn and run away from him if he targets you (backing away is too slow), and lead him around while the rest of the party hits him with ranged attacks. It is easy to tell who is being targeted, so the rest of the group should spread out and avoid any attacks that might hit them. Just don't get close to him at any point. Since many of his spells in this phase are very short-ranged and often channeled, there will be many opportunities for the party to use heavy damage abilities with impunity. Blocks, stability and blink spells will be excellent in this phase as in the previous.

Usually, lupicus follows a pattern with his attacks. It seems that immediately after the AoE lifesteal centered around lupicus (big midair jump) he will immediately try and track down a player for the missile barrage AoE. immediately after this, if any players are downed or in range he will attempt to use the poison bubble attack. this attack is usually only used after the barrage attack, or on downed players to finish them off. Lupicus will intermittently use the AoE from P2, although it seems reduced, in terms of the number of projectiles he uses. Notes: on bubble aoe: typically players will be downed on an outer rim of the bubble (due to frantically trying to escape). if players are alive momentarily, it is wise to reach an outer edge of the bubble to allow a teammate to revive. a revived player on the edge of a bubble has a chance to stand up through the bubble field (similar to Twilight arbor "kill enemies behind the forcefields" situation) allowing them to not only escape, but to be revived while lupicus is focused on keeping the bubble AoE active. Also, oddly enough, the easiest way to dodge both the bubble and the focused projectile barrage is to turn before his cast and roll through his legs. more often than not results in lupicus switching aggro.

Jotun path (Path 1)

Bosses

• Ancient Ooze

After speaking with the first Jotun spirit, you will have to fight a giant ooze. His fighting technique is causing a large knockback smash as he moves towards his target. Keep him kited. Be sure to clear all orrian turrets first.

Once killed he will split into a slightly smaller ooze - the item you need to complete the quest may have dropped at this point and you can avoid having to kill the continually smaller oozes he splits into by turning in the item to the spirit, causing a chest to spawn.

• 9 Champion Crystal Monsters

After the second Jotun spirit, these monsters are immune to player dealt damage, but receive damage when in the presence of green light found around the room.

When a player stands in lit areas in the cave, regardless of being in combat or not, a debuff will begin to be stacked on that player. This debuff causes the player to take ticks of 100 damage - the higher the counter of the debuff, the faster these ticks of damage are taken. However there is a tradeoff: the higher the counter of the debuff on the player, the more damage that player does to the monsters. This fight is a balance of players standing in the light for as long as they can to do increasing amounts of damage to the monsters, then running out of the light to reset the stacks before the player dies. Without this debuff, players can expect to only deal single digit damage numbers to the monsters.

A prefered tactic is to have someone pull all the Crystal Monsters into one spot and then blow them up with AoE.

• Legendary shoggroth

After the third Jotun spirit you will find 4 "endless" spawning points of tar elementals. Have a member of your party stand on each geyser to stop lesser tar elementals from spawning. Once all 4 geysers are clogged, the boss will spawn and you can step off the geyser. At least twice during the fight the boss will hide again and the geysers must be reclogged.

When the Legendary Shoggroth is set on fire, it no longer spawns adds. If you have no burn powers, use the 300 Year Old Whiskey bottle near the spirit to keep it ablaze. Be careful, as it can be used to burn allies.

Note: if the entire party wipes, the boss's health will not reset. He keeps spawning tar elementals continually throughout the fight, so it may be most time-efficient for players to ignore the elementals for as long as possible while dpsing the boss down, even if this results in an eventual wipe.

The boss will drop tar puddles on the ground. If a player runs through these/dodges into them/etc., they will be tarred. They will be taking damage but be unable to use any skills while tarred, and this debuff lasts for a minute or until the player is downed. This debuff can be cleansed by using the 300 Year Old Whiskey bottle, it will cleanse the tar but it will also burn your ally.

• Giganticus Lupicus - see above.
  • The waypoint for this path is at the Ancient Ooze, it is the longest run back for Giganticus Lupicus.

• Korga, the gorilla boss can be skipped or lured to places with only 1 corpse around he can resurrect.

• Legendary Jotun Stargazer
  • This boss, when talked to will turn into an enemy. Have everything ready near the boss before talking to him.
  • You need reflecting crystals to do this fight. They are in the room with the spiders prior to this boss room. (We had members hit 5 times in a row without the crystal breaking, however some have reported you should bring some backup crystals).
  • The boss will shoot slow moving blue flames at party members (These crystals bounce them back into the boss to do damage).
  • Bringing reflect skills such as Wall of Reflection or Toss Elixir U will help quickly kill the boss.
  • There are concentric rings of fire that will tighten on the team while the boss looses health
  • The boss will charge up with a flame glow which indicates that they are about to raise a lava font. Avoid these lava fonts as they do lots of damage.

Mursaat path (Path 2)

Bosses

1) Asura - stay away from barrels. Everyone needs to be in melee or she does massive damage to far targets. She teleports around. Most of the floor will end up covered in red death, but just keep closing her down as best you can.

2) Berserk abomination - three respawning inquest need to be killed; they drop rifles that can be picked up and used to tranquilise the abomination when he berserks. He has a jump up -> aoe knockdown combo that can be outranged. He also throws rocks that one shot but that are easily dodgeable.

3) Giganticus Lupicus - see above

4) Alphard - spawns adds every 25%; kill them and go back to the boss. A wall prevents you from running back if you die. If she gets the energised buff she likes to do multiple spins of lightning aoe that instakills people, but can be blocked by the rocks around her or reflected with any reflect projectiles ability. Edit: it seems only Shield of the Avenger (Guardian) works against the lightning orbs. Reflect projectiles skills work against Alphards normal attacks, however.

5) Brie - One person at a time can click the terminal and fight her; when their buff runs out someone else needs to go in. Dodge aoe circles. Some trivial adds spawn for the people outside to kill. at 50% everyone can get through the barrier and kill her.

General tips

Risen Deadeyes do insane damage at far range, but are easily countered by blinds while you close the distance on them.

Many mines, you can run over them with swiftness and not take damage but people behind you need to be careful.

In the spider section, one person needs to ride the golem and push back the spiders while the others take turns to recharge him with the rifles. Swiftness increases the golem's speed like 3x, and is needed to stop the abominations from squishing everyone.

Asura Technicians channel stuns and need to be interrupted

The underwater section can be a bit of a maze, but swim to the far side and follow the lamps

Forgotten path (Path 3)

The Forgotten Path with Warden Illyra is often considered the least troublesome of the runs, with the least difficult boss fights (apart from Lupicus) and being able to run past the mobs barring the path to the Wraithlord. In addition there are a variety of exploits in which certain classes can circumvent whole sections of the dungeon, as well as terrain glitches that can be used as shortcuts.

General Tips for Path 3

As far as elite enemies go, prioritize Risen Mages and Illusionists. Both have heavy-damage spells and AoEs that are difficult to avoid. These two enemy types will be incredibly frustrating when either running or fighting. Risen Hunters are dangerous due to the eagles they summon (high damage but low health), while the Elementalists are the least of the party's worries, with only a moderately damaged 'claw'-shaped projectile spread.

The Champion Risen Spiders that appear while heading to the Wraithlord Mage Crusher are also dangerous. Their barrage of poison AoE attacks are often lethal, and parties that choose to run must find a spot where the spiders can de-aggro safely.

Bosses

Wraithlord Crusher and Hunter

This encounter consists of two mobs: the Legendary Wraithlord Crusher and a Champion Hunter. The hunter will regularly shoot poison clouds over the crusher's position, trigger traps on anyone attempting to melee him and apply heavy conditions to the party, including a very long lasting immobilize that prevents players from dodging away from the crusher's attacks. The crusher himself has two attacks, a well telegraphed charge-up shockwave attack that will down in one hit and an AoE revive that will resurrect any Risen in the area, even if their corpses have been looted and disappeared. This means taking out the Champion Hunter first in the usual fashion is pointless and pulling the Crusher himself too far will see him resurrecting large numbers of elite and normal Risen mobs. Instead, the Crusher must be targeted and killed in place. Blocks and invulnerables will save lives as players will frequently be rooted in place by the Hunter. Slotting heavily for condition removal and shaking off roots in specific is adviseable.

It is also possible to separate the two via kiting - by keeping the Crusher in place and kiting the Hunter towards the start area. Alone, the Champion Hunter can easily be killed by a couple party members. Without his presence, killing the lone Crusher and avoiding his attacks becomes trivial.

Wraithlord Mage Crusher

This fight would be as simple as the first if not for the constantly-spawning Risen Hands that periodically knock down players. You can avoid the Mage Crusher's attacks completely by standing at certain positions, making this fight relatively easy. If not standing in these areas, attacking from range and dodging constantly is important, as the Mage Crusher's AoEs are powerful and often inflict poison. Once he's defeated another chest will spawn for the party.

Giganticus Lupicus (see above)

Wraithlord

The battle with the Wraithlord happens in two 'phases'. At first the Wraithlord will be invulnerable; the party has to first control all three ritual circles while he teleports around them in clouds of poison, as well as summoning minions that attempt to chase players off of the circles. If only two ritual circles are held, the process will be noticeably slower; if less than two are held, the progress will actually reduce rapidly. Therefore it is important to remain on the circles for as long as possible.

Typically one player will aggro these summoned mobs, kiting them while the other party members finish the ritual. Swiftness is an excellent boon to constantly apply during this 'phase' of the Wraithlord. Condition removal is also a good idea. Do not kill the summoned mobs; they will simply respawn indefinitely and are not worth the effort.

Once the ritual is finished the Wraithlord will become vulnerable to normal damage. Primarily a melee attacker, the Wraithlord can also shadow walk (much like Giganticus Lupicus) to targets. His normal attacks are not particularly damaging, but he applies a Corruption effect that can stack, increasing the amount of damage his future attacks will do -- this can be deadly! Luckily, columns of light will periodically appear on the ground with a corresponding combo circle. Standing in these circles will remove your Corruption stacks and act as a Condition Removal combo field as well. As the fight drags on he will summon undead tendrils and more minions; these are hindrances at worst. Once the Wraithlord is dead, he will spawn a chest and the dungeon will be completed.

Seer path (Path 4)

This path has you collecting blood stones at shrines of the 5 gods along with some tough undead trash groups and fun 'Frogger' halls.

Bosses

1) The first boss fight is priest of Balthazar and is fairly straightforward if you've done other dungeons. Balthasar's statue is activated by killing the hounds in the area, then placing the fire they drop on the torches around the statue. Against the priest of Balthasar, avoid fire and watch his great sword spin.

2) To activate Melandru's statue, use the buckets of poison on the stumps in the nearby rooms. The second deity fight involves trees that root nearby players in a room with 'oozes' (flashing balls) that randomly move around. Getting struck by one knocks you down with some damage and a poison. Note that there are some spots where oozes never go. Find them and stand here while you kill the boss. Remember to have one or two people destroy the trees, as they can be very annoying in large numbers.

3) Next is basically fighting a big mesmer, make sure you can cleanse the 25 stacks of confusion you may get or be sure to not attack. Otherwise laugh at whoever is a Moa and stab boss.

4) To open the doors to the following rooms, your party will have to carry an orb of light from one receptacle to another identical container by the door at the end of the room. The orb damages whoever carries it, and it's lost if the carrier is downed. While carrying the orb, players will get an environmental weapon skill that allows them to throw the orb, and whoever is hit by the trajectory of the orb will receive it. This allows players to pass it like a 'hot potato' while running to the other receptacle. Note that when using the skill, players with "Fast-Cast Ground Targeting" deactivated will get an AoE indicator, but the skill is actually a projectile, and will not hit those within the AoE, but those in the trajectory of the thrown orb. A mesmer can speed things up quite a bit with a useful portal in that event which has 2 phases and there's a shortcut path between the rocks on the right side to go straight to Lupicus.

5) Giganticus Lupicus is the following boss, read above for strategies.

6) Activating Grenth's statue requires to kill a wraith. There are 5 runes in the room. The simplest way is to have one person stay within each rune while the wraith teleports around. He will reset if the rune he is teleporting to is empty or if he gets knocked off a rune. He always follows a set order. If you are standing in the middle rune while facing the undead wraith, The order goes: (starting position)/East, right/South, left/North, behind/West, middle. Then he will go back to the starting position in front. This is the circuit he follows and if your group is coordinated enough, you can have people leave their runes as long as the rune he is occupying and going to teleport to are ready for aggro (to take damage from him in melee range or to hit him and damage him). There is a short period of time when he first teleports in which he has to be "aggroed" or else he will reset. After the undead wraith is killed, the Grenth statue will activate. The priest of Grenth can't be damaged. Instead, the priest will spawn another undead wraith which the group can kill. It is no longer necessary to stand on a specific rune. Each wraith places a debuff on one party member randomly that will kill him instantly after expiration. The priet's health will decrease everytime one wraith is killed.

7) Next is Dwayna, arguably the hardest boss fight in the game. To activate the statue, simply kite the invulnerable balls around the statue. There are 5 runes, you must position one on each rune. Once a ball is in place on a runes, it might move, making it difficult to spot the free runes. To see which runes are free, watch for the shield icon around them : if present, it means this rune is occupied. During the first phase (100%-50% health), the priest will regularly petrify one person in the group. This can be cancelled by throwing a tear of Dwayna on this person. Assign your lowest dps to this task In phase 2,in addition to the petrifications, the priest stealths on a regular timer (45 second cool down). The 5 balls reset and the boss starts healing while stealthed until you kite the balls back on each rune the same way you activated the statue. 2 working strategies have been reported for now:

• Move the priest somewhere where she won't interfere with the kiting. The southern wall for example. 1 person stands north, near the entrance of the cave, and will kite all the north balls. One person stands south near the spawn location of one ball and will kite both southern balls. Once the balls are in place and the boss is unstealthed, these people can burst their skills on her then go back in position. The other 3 (including the person who repeatedly gets petrified and the one assigned to tears) fight the boss constantly, even when she's stealthed. This method takes practise to succeed, so be patient.
• This tactic requires alot of dps and warriors or guardians are prefered because of close range damage. Just like the other tactic you should lure the priest away from the sparks. Hamster the tears before you do this though and one of the lowest dps in the party should do the curing of petrify. The trick is to bring her down to 50% HP so the sparks spawn, now put in 4/5 sparks. Let her regenerate so she has full health or comes out of stealth. Next, bring her down to 50% again with 4 people (and one tear thrower) and before she hits 50% and goes to stealth, one person goes to the one spark that is left, so he can put it in as soon as it spawns. If it's done, this player should go dps the boss as well. This means the priest will have very low stealth time. Now everyone has to dps as much as possible and kill her before she can stealth again, there is 45 second recharge on the stealth. Very usefull in this tactic is to use the best available power+precision nourishment and best available potion of undead slaying.

8) After Dwayna go north, kill the champion drake and then jump in a pool on the left. Swim right past the shark, the path eventually leads to the final fight. There's a bonus event if you decide to go the longer way but it envolves clearing a lot of pretty tough groups of linked illusionists, elementalists and hunters, and if you came that far it's likely you'll be wanting to go straight to the last boss fight.

9) The final fight involves a small element from each of the previous encounters. Assign one person to throwing tears to depetrify people, another to destroy Melandru's trees, and the rest on the boss. Note that Grenth's wraith will spawn from time to time, it is advised to focus on him with the whole team when it does.

General Tips

Having a sturdy group and solid condition removal (and boon removal on some trash groups) is ideal. This is a very long dungeon path with more chests than the average dungeon and two very challenging boss fights that have a long run from waypoint. Use any advantage to your disposal. Having exotic gear, potions of undead slaying and food suited to your playstyle make the dungeon easier.

NPCs

Allies

• Ogden Stonehealer
• Priory Explorer
• Priory Historian
• Randall Greyston
• Scholar Yissa
• Surratt, Whispers Agent
• Sylvan Hound
• Varra Skylark
• Vigil Crusader
• Vigil Marksman
• Vigil Tactician
• Vigil Warmaster
• Warden Illyra
• Whispers Agent

Foes

• Alphard, Serpent of the Waves
• Berserker Abomination
• Champion Crystalline Effigy
• Champion Orrian Drake
• Champion Orrian Spider
• Champion Orrian Warrior
• Champion Risen Spider
• Dominated Berserker
• Dominated Deadeye
• Dominated Defiler
• Farnax, High Priestess of Lyssa
• Giganticus Lupicus
• Inquest Handler
• Inquest Technician
• Legendary Jotun Stargazer
• Kaisar, High Priest of Balthazar
• Korga
• Legendary Shoggroth
• Locust Swarm
• Operative Belka
• Operative Brie
• Orrian Drake
• Orrian Eagle
• Orrian Farmer
• Orrian Servant
• Orrian Spider
• Orrian Villager
• Orrian Wizard
• Plague Carrier Abomination
• Risen Deadeye
• Risen Elementalist
• Risen Grub
• Risen Hunter
• Risen Illusionist
• Risen Mage
• Risen Shark
• Undead Abomination
• Vahid, High Priest of Melandru
• Wraithlord
• Wraithlord's Crusher
• Wraithlord's Hunter
• Wraithlord's Mage Crusher

Dialogue

Initial dialogue

Ogden Stonehealer: This isn't the first time the dragons have risen.

Ogden Stonehealer: The Tome of the Rubicon speaks of the dwarves fighting the dragon's champions.

Ogden Stonehealer: We have since learned of other races fighting the dragons long ago-- mursaat, jotun, Forgotten, and Seers.

Ogden Stonehealer: Their secrets are to be found within this ruined city of the human gods.

Ogden Stonehealer: We have experts on each race, all seeking this lost knowledge.

Ogden Stonehealer: Choose one of them, and help us discover how to better fight the remaining dragons.

Forgotten

Choosing to help Warden Illyra.

Warden Illyra: The Forgotten were a race of ancient serpents.

Warden Illyra: I have learned that the last time the Elder Dragons came, the Forgotten worked with Glint, who hid the old races from the dragons' power.

Warden Illyra: Glint was a champion of the Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik, but somehow she shook off his yoke.

Warden Illyra: Our scouts have reported ancient artifacts, which may be tied to the Forgotten.

Warden Illyra: Perhaps they hold the key for freeing creatures from the control of the dragons.

Investigating a Forgotten Vase.

Warden Illyra: This artifact once belonged to the Forgotten. The golden seal matches those from the Crystal Desert.

Warden Illyra: More importantly, it has remained uncorrupted either by Orr's long immersion or by Zhaitan.

Warden Illyra: This is important. It means that some sort of protection is possible!

Investigating a Forgotten Tome.

Warden Illyra: Yes. Yes! Look at these runes. The Forgotten were able to remove Kralkatorrik's control over Glint.

Warden Illyra: Glint remained in crystalline form, but she regained her free will and identity.

Warden Illyra: If we can re-create the process, this will help in fighting the dragons.

Warden Illyra: The spell requires a location near here. We need to find a likely place to replicate the experiment.

At the Giganticus Lupicus.

Warden Illyra: That body looks like a Giganticus Lupicus, corrupted by Zhaitan's power.

Warden Illyra: They became extinct long before the first sylvari fell off the tree.

<Instance owner>: It doesn't look extinct. It's moving!

Warden Illyra: Is it? Amazing!

Discovering the Altar of Glaust.

Warden Illyra: This is the altar. It was here, before the human gods came, that Glint was freed of the Elder Dragons.

Warden Illyra: With luck, we can reproduce the original spell.

Warden Illyra: Protect me and the chicken while we perform the ritual!

After cleansing the Risen Chicken and defeating the Wraithlord.

Warden Illyra: Excellent! Look at the clarity in its eyes. The lack of murderous rage!

Warden Illyra: I will call it "Twitchy."

Warden Illyra: Ogden will be so impressed!

Jotun

At beginning

Varra Skylark: The jotun are now primitive brutes, but they were once brilliant and highly magical.

Varra Skylark: They studied the world and the heavens, and inscribed their discoveries on their great monument stones.

Varra Skylark: My study of those stones in the Shiverpeaks leads me to believe they knew when the dragons would awaken.

Varra Skylark: That knowledge was found by the human gods and brought here to Arah.

Varra Skylark: Our scouts have found old monument stones here among the wreckage. I think they point to where an ancient jotun observatory may be found.

Varra Skylark: Come with me and together we can learn the secret of the jotuns.

At the first monument stone.

Varra Skylark: There! A jotun monument stone, uncorrupted by the Elder Dragon's influence!

Varra Skylark: Hold on, something is manifesting. Yes!

Jotun Stargazer: I know your desires. You seek the wisdom of the jotun.

Jotun Stargazer: Speak with me, and if I find you worthy, a mystic jotun stone will be your reward.

After returning to the first monument stone upon defeating the Ancient Ooze.

Varra Skylark: I have the stone. Let's go!

After defeating the Crystalline Effigies.

Varra Skylark: I have the mystic jotun stone.

At the third monument stone

Legendary Jotun Stargazer: I know your desires. You seek the wisdom of the jotun.

Upon defeating Legendary Shoggoth

Varra Skylark: I've got the mystic jotun stone.

Upon approaching the Giganticus Lupicus

Varra Skylark: This looks like an obsolete arena.

Varra Skylark: And that body is a Giganticus Lupicus! I recognize it from the old texts!

<Instance owner>: Be careful. It may not be quite dead.

Varra Skylark: The Giganticus Lupicus died out over ten thousand years ago. Wait a minute! I think you're right!

After defeating the Giganticus Lupicus

Varra Skylark: You've slain it!

Varra Skylark: (sigh) I only hope it's not the last one.

Approaching the final monument stone^{[verification requested]}

Varra Skylark: Yes, you will speak with us, and we will be worthy.

Varra Skylark: Wait, what?

After defeating the Jotun Stargazer

Varra Skylark: Beyond this gate should be the secret of the jotun.

Varra Skylark: Success! We have found it!

Varra Skylark: There! The telescope of the jotun!

After defeating the Legendary Jotun Stargazer and gaining access to the The Mystic Telescope.

Varra Skylark: Excellent, I've checked the runes. Now let me examine the device itself.

Varra Skylark: Yes, yes! This clearly shows some new stars in the firmament. And they line up with the Jotun designs!

Varra Skylark: The appearance of the Elder Dragons is reflected by the stars themselves. When they awaken, so do these new stars!

Varra Skylark: This will be most helpful for our future work!

Mursaat

Choosing to help Scholar Yissa.

Scholar Yissa: Excellent. Someone else as interested in the mursaat as I!

Scholar Yissa: The mursaat are a lost race, but once they ruled humans as the Unseen Ones.

Scholar Yissa: What legends I have uncovered say they used powerful magic to shift themselves out of phase with this world.

Scholar Yissa: I believe they used this as a way to escape the Elder Dragons.

Scholar Yissa: Come! The secret of the mursaat must be somewhere in these ruins!

Discovering the research team has been murdered by Inquest.

Operative Belka: So, you're finally catching up with us, eh?

Scholar Yissa: That asura. I recognize her. (gasp) She's Inquest!

Scholar Yissa: She was talking to my scouts earlier. I knew they were interested in the mursaat.

Operative Belka: Your scouts are dead, scholar, and soon you will be as well!

Approaching the Giganticus Lupicus.

Scholar Yissa: That's the corpse of a Giganticus Lupicus!

Scholar Yissa: Their extinction matches the possible last time the Elder Dragons awoke.

Scholar Yissa: Hold on, now. I think it's stirring!

Defeating Alphard, Serpent of the Waves.

Scholar Yissa: They have plundered this site as well.

Scholar Yissa: If the Inquest discover the secrets of the mursaat, they could become unstoppable.

Approaching Operative Brie

Defeating Operative Brie.

Scholar Yissa: Amazing! These artifacts reveal the full story.

Scholar Yissa: The races gathered together to fight the dragons, each contributing something.

Scholar Yissa: Hmm. Yet the mursaat took their knowledge and fled into a half-world, out of phase with our own.

Scholar Yissa: They would have let the rest of the world die just to save themselves. Huh. Just like the Inquest.

Seer

Choosing to help Randall Greyston.

Randall Greyston: The seers were a magical race, once close allies to the mursaat.

Randall Greyston: When the Elder Dragons first awoke, they gathered the unspoiled magic in the world and locked it within a great artifact—the first bloodstone.

Randall Greyston: The human gods recovered this bloodstone, and gave magic to the human race. When humanity could not handle that power, they split it into five parts.

Randall Greyston: The first bloodstone was broken into pieces in Arah.

Randall Greyston: I've modified an asuran device to follow divine energies. I think we can find shards from that event, and perhaps its location.

Beginning the path

Vigil Tactician: Stand clear, she's about the blow!

Vigil Tactician: We have enemy inbound!

Vigil Tactician: Onward! Into the fray!

Vigil Tactician: Hold position, troops!

When Champion Risen Knight appears

Vigil Marksman: (screaming)

Vigil Tactician: Mission aborted!

Defeating the Champion Risen Knight

Randall Greyston: Lord Odran once sought out the gods. Perhaps we need to seek them out again.

Fighting Kaisar, High Priest of Balthazar

Kaisar, High Priest of Balthazar: For Zhaitan!

Kaisar, High Priest of Balthazar: You cannot defeat the Elder Dragons!

Kaisar, High Priest of Balthazar: No! My power betrays me!

After defeating Kaiser

Randall Greyston: Look there! That gem upon the creature's head!

Randall Greyston: That's a shard of the bloodstone. It matches my research.

Randall Greyston: I knew there had to be small pieces from when the human gods sundered it.

Randall Greyston: We must recover it!

After cinematic

Randall Greyston: This looks interesting.

Randall Greyston: I think Zhaitan's minions are attracted to the power of these stones.

Approaching Melandru's Dome

Randall Greyston: That font of light. I sense that it is strongly divine!

Vahid, High Priest of Melandru: Die, in Zhaitan's name!

Randall Greyston: Look! There's another one!

Randall Greyston: And again, it has a shard of the bloodstone!

Vahid, High Priest of Melandru: Opposing Zhaitan is sacriledge!

Vahid, High Priest of Melandru: Bow before Zhaitan's power!

Vahid, High Priest of Melandru: The pain! It is too much!

A few rooms after Vahid

Surratt, Whispers Agent: Hey, I need your help!

Surratt, Whispers Agent: We're in for some trouble.

Defeating the oncoming Risen

Surratt, Whispers Agent: Thank you for lending me a hand.

Surratt, Whispers Agent: Ready your weapons and move in!

Surratt, Whispers Agent: Couldn't have done it without you.

At a statue of Lyssa

Surratt, Whispers Agent: Look out!

Surratt, Whispers Agent: (evil laughter)

Farnax, High Priestess of Lyssa: Zhaitan eats gods!

Farnax, High Priestess of Lyssa: This is Zhaitan's land!

Farnax, High Priestess of Lyssa: Death welcomes me!

At the Giganticus Lupicus

Randall Greyston: Amazing! This dead creature predates the human gods here.

<Instance owner>: Look out! It's moving!

Randall Greyston: By the Six Gods! Now it's one more slave to Zhaitan!

When approaching the Bloodstone Shard.

Randall Greyston: This must be where the bloodstone was sundered.

Randall Greyston: This is a holy place, overwhelmed by the corruption of the Dragons.

Randall Greyston: Clear this, and let me read the elder runes.

After defeating the risen surrounding the Bloodstone Shard.

Randall Greyston: Each of the bloodstone shards has been captured by a corrupted servant of a human god, yet this one is not. I wonder why.

Randall Greyston: Fantastic! The human gods not only sundered the seer's bloodstone here-they increased its power.

Randall Greyston: They pulled the energies of Zhaitan himself, even though they did not know of the sleeping Elder Dragon.

Randall Greyston: They only knew that this was a place of great magical power, and built their godly city here.

<Instance Owner>: Greyston! What is happening to you?

Randall Greyston: I can hear the stones calling me! I can hear the voices of the Six Gods!

After defeating the Bloodstone Shard.

Randall Greyston: I go now, to seek out the gods themselves!

Notes

Bugs:

* The Jotun path is currently bugged, the last door fails to open if the NPC takes any damage from fire in the last fight. You can however get past this door with a Mesmer or a Thief. It may also work with an Elementalist

• After reviving at a waypoint players sometimes lose all their skills if they have been hit by tar while they died. This can be fixed if you relog your character.
• The seer path may bug sometimes at lupicus, lupicus will just sit at his starting position and wont become hostile. The cause is unknown but in order to fix it you will have to restart the dungeon.
• The seer path may also bug at the fight with Simi, the priestess of Dwayna. When this happens, she will hide every time her health reaches 50%, regardless of time spent gathering the sparks or fighting her.

---

Dungeons

Ascalonian Catacombs	(story • explorable)	Caudecus's Manor	(story • explorable)
Twilight Arbor	(story • explorable)	Sorrow's Embrace	(story • explorable)
Citadel of Flame	(story • explorable)	Honor of the Waves	(story • explorable)
Crucible of Eternity	(story • explorable)	The Ruined City of Arah	(story • explorable)
Fractals of the Mists