Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns content

Spirit Vale

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Spirit Vale

Spirit Vale map.jpg
Map of Spirit Vale

Levels
80
Type
Raid
Within
Forsaken Thicket
API
1062

Spirit Vale loading screen.jpg
Loading screen

A Pact squad has gone missing in northern Maguuma, and you and your allies are their only hope for recovery. But the deadly forest isn’t the only risk to the rescue operation—the area holds dark secrets and strange magic.

Official description

Spirit Vale is the first raid wing of the Forsaken Thicket raid and is commonly referred to as W1.

A Pact platoon just north of Verdant Brink has been attacked by bandits, and they have taken an entire squad deeper into the jungle. Rescuing this squad will not be easy, the bandits are not the only danger in this forest.

Getting there[edit]

  • The portal for entering the raid "Forsaken Thicket (and Spirit Vale) is located in the far northeast corner of Verdant Brink. The in-game map shows an icon for the portal, which can be reached by heading east from the Waypoint (map icon).png Jaka Itzel Waypoint or north from the Waypoint (map icon).png Shipwreck Peak Waypoint. Players must be in a raid squad of up to 10 players prior to entering the portal.
  • Using the portal in Lion's Arch Aerodrome. You must join a raid squad before you can enter the portal.

Locations[edit]

Mail.png

Squad Leader Falgeir

Rescue Mission


URGENT: Requesting ground support in northern Maguuma. Platoon suffered heavy casualties. All available personnel should report to the Pact representative at the designated location north of Batrach Falls for briefing.

Points of Interest
Point of interest (map icon).png Mysterious Pylons
Point of interest (map icon).png River of Spirits
Point of interest (map icon).png Abandoned Outpost
Point of interest (map icon).png Bandit's Rest
Point of interest (map icon).png Gorseval's Perch
Point of interest (map icon).png The Skillet
Landmarks
Personal waypoint (map icon).png Spirit Woods

Interactive map[edit]

Objectives[edit]

  • Defeat the Vale Guardian.
    • Vale Guardian
    • Event bar.jpgEvent boss (tango icon).png
    • Guardians killed: 0/3
    • Time remaining: 8:00
  • Venture deeper into the woods.
  • Close the spectral rifts before they erupt.
    • Time limit: 4:00
    • Event bar empty2.jpg
    • Close the spectral rift
    • Event bar empty2.jpgEvent flag green.png
  • Run from the spirits
    • Destroy the spectral barriers
    • Event bar empty2.jpg
    • Close the spectral rift
    • Event bar empty2.jpgEvent flag green.png
  • Find a way to open the gate.
    • Event bar empty2.jpg
  • Explore what lies beyond the cemetery.
  • Destroy Gorseval.
    • Gorseval the Multifarious
    • Event bar.jpgEvent boss (tango icon).png
    • Time remaining: 7:00
  • Cull the bandits to lure out the bandit leader.
    • Bandits Remaining
    • Event bar.jpgEvent swords (tango icon).png
  • Defeat Sabetha the Saboteur.
    • Platform
    • Event bar.jpgEvent swords (tango icon).png
    • Sabetha the Saboteur
    • Event bar.jpgEvent boss (tango icon).png
    • Time remaining: 9:00

Walkthrough[edit]

Colored Guardians[edit]

Players will first encounter a group of three distinctly colored guardians that are positioned in a random order each run. Each is surrounded by a Magic Aura (large red AoE field) that pulses damage relative to the player's health every few seconds. This damage stacks with those from the Magic Aura of the other guardians, so it is recommended to fight only one at a time unless the squad can outheal the pulsing damage.

Light blue balls will also spawn around the outer edges and slowly move towards a player. These deal moderate damage but travel in a straight line, so can be easily sidestepped.

A guardian engages in combat once a player steps within its aura. Upon reaching 1% health, it becomes invulnerable and can only be defeated by breaking its defiance bar using crowd control skills. Furthermore, each colored guardian has unique mechanics:

Blue Guardian[edit]

Distributed Magic.
Special Mechanic - Blue Pylon Power.png Blue Pylon Power

The Blue Guardian will start with Blue Pylon Power, which makes it near-immune to damage. To remove this effect, the invulnerability must be stripped or corrupted. It will regain the Blue Pylon Power effect, as well as protection every 10 seconds.

Special Mechanic - Distributed Magic (Blue Guardian)

A timed green circle will spawn in a random place within its aura every 15 seconds, which detonates after about 5 seconds. A minimum of three players stand within the green circle before it detonates to greatly reduce the damage taken by the entire squad. Players downed or in mid-dodge animation will not count as being inside the circle.

Green Guardian[edit]

Unstable Magic Spike.
Special Mechanic - Unstable Magic Spike (Green Guardian)

The Green Guardian spawns small, blue electric fields under nearby players every 10 seconds, which detonate after 2-3 seconds. Players hit by the explosion will take heavy damage and be teleported to a random location within its Magic Aura (and potentially pull a nearby guardian into the squad). Players standing within a blue field will hear a sizzling sound effect as well as see a yellow border around their screen. The damage and effect can also be blocked, evadeed, or sidestepped.

Players can jump right before the blue field detonates to avoid the teleportation from it. However, they will still take damage and can still be teleported if standing on multiple fields.

Red Guardian[edit]

Seekers.

The Red Guardian has extremely high toughness, rendering damage other than Condition Damage ineffective to the point of dealing single-digit damage.

Special Mechanic - Summon Seekers

Two Seekers are summoned every 15 seconds and persist for 20 seconds before despawning. They slowly gravitate toward a random player and may change targets while en route. All players standing within its AoE field will be pulsed with heavy damage.

Due to their extremely high health, Seekers can be managed through the use of Knockback.png Knockbacks, Launch.png Launches, Pull.png Pulls to keep them away, as well as Chilled.png Chilled, Crippled.png cripple, or Immobile.png immobilize to impede their advance. Take care not to pull in Seekers towards the squad when breaking its defiance bar.

Vale Guardian[edit]

The Vale Guardian arena.
Health: 22,021,440
Enrage Timer: 8 minutes
Enrage Effect: Vengeance (Mordrem).png Enraged - Increases damage dealt by 200%.
Fixation Mechanics: Highest toughness

Once all three guardians have been defeated, players will reach the Vale Guardian arena. This arena is equally divided into three sections, wherein each third of the battlefield has a uniquely colored pylon along the outside edge and a uniquely designed rune tile in the center. The encounter begins when either the boss is attacked, or if a player is within its proximity. An impassable barrier soon encircles the arena, defeating all players outside of it.

General[edit]

The Vale Guardian operates under toughness-based tanking where it will only follow and target the player with the highest toughness at a given point in time (or a random player if all players have equal toughness). A tank should be designated prior to the fight to control the movement and position of the boss.

The boss is an amalgamation of the three previous guardians and thus inherits their unique mechanics with a few adjustments:

  • Unstable Magic Spike (Blues) - Deals heavy damage and teleports hit players to a random place around the arena.
    • In addition to moving out or dodging the blue circles, players can also block them to avoid the teleport. Note that each field handles its teleport separately, therefore if a player is standing on two fields at the same time, they might block the first field but still get teleported by the second field.
  • Distributed Magic (Greens) - At least four players must stand within the green circle before it detonates, else everyone will take 80% of their health as damage. These will only spawn in the section the Vale Guardian is standing in. This mechanic can be dealt in two ways:
    • Greens: Four players (preferably those with ranged damage) are designated to perform the mechanic so everyone else can focus on the boss. These players must prioritize reaching the green circles in time and alive.
    • No Greens (common): Players stack tightly together, apply Barrier.png Barrier and Protection.png Protection if possible, and heal through the damage. Since the attack deals a set percentage of each player's health, healers should ensure everyone is at full health before the detonation then burst heal them to full health.
  • Seekers - A Seeker will spawn in the center of each arena section and slowly gravitate towards a player. All Seekers disappear after 20 seconds before a new set spawns.

All three of these mechanics will occur simultaneously throughout the entire encounter.

Phase 1[edit]

The tank should keep the Vale Guardian in one place and face them away from the squad. Its attacks cleave and can result in unnecessary damage to the rest of the squad if positioned improperly. There are a few common strategies for tanking the Vale Guardian:

  1. Edge (common): The tank stands on the edge of the arena and at the interface where the two arena sections meet. This maximizes the distance away from the Seekers. The squad ignores Greens and heal through the damage.
  2. Center: Squads with high damage and good coordination and seeker management can opt for this risky, but fast strategy. The tank stands in the center of the arena, minimizing boss movement for the entire encounter. However, all three Seekers are able to reach the squad quicker.
  3. Section Center (uncommon): The tank stands on the edge of the arena and near the center of the arena section. This minimizes the distance needed to reach any Greens, while maximizing the distance away from two of the Seekers. Speed Boost Mushrooms can also be used by players that have trained the Blazing Speed Mushrooms mastery (the speed boost does not stack with Swiftness.png Swiftness or Quickness.png Quickness).

Upon reaching 66% health, the Vale Guardian becomes invulnerable, runs towards the center of the arena, and tethers to each of the three pylons around the arena. Shortly after, it disappears and spawns a colored guardian at each pylon.

Phase 2[edit]

Health: 540,705 for the Blue and Red Guardians, 722,579 for the Green Guardian

The colored guardians from the previous encounter simultaneously reappear on their respective sections of the arena. They spawn with less health but are otherwise functionally similar as before:

  • Seekers (Red Guardian) - A Seeker will spawn at the rune in the center of that section and targets any player within the arena, not just those nearby. A new one spawns every 15 seconds and persists for 20 seconds before despawning
  • Blues (Green Guardian) - Blue circles will only spawn for the players nearby, however they will teleport players within them anywhere around the arena. Players should take care because they can be teleported to the other guardians.
  • Greens (Blue Guardian) - Three players instead of four must stand within the circle to avoid all players from taking 80% of their health as damage.

Players will also gain either Pylon Attunement: Red, Pylon Attunement: Green, or Pylon Attunement: Blue depending on which section they were standing in before the guardians spawn. The red AoE surrounding each guardian pulses heavy damage to all players not sharing the same attunement color as it. The squad can either split up for the guardians, or stack them together and outheal the damage.

A common strategy is to lure the Green Guardian to the Blue Guardian to cleave together, while 2-3 players with condition damage head to the Red Guardian (due to its extremely high toughness). As with before, it is important for players with boon strip or corruption to remove the Blue Pylon Power effect from the Blue Guardian.

Upon reaching 1% health for each guardian, they become invulnerable and can only be defeated when their defiance bar is broken. Once all three guardians have been defeated, the Vale Guardian reappears from the center of the arena.

Phase 3[edit]

This phase is similar to the first phase, however one section of the arena will be lit up due to the Unstable Pylon effect. Players standing within this section will take 2000 damage every second (unaffected by damage reduction). The lit section rotate clockwise every 20 seconds, starting with the green pylon section. The tank must therefore position the boss away from these lit sections using one of the following tanking strategies:

  1. Edge/Line (common) — The tank stands at the edge of the arena and on the interface between two sections, repositioning to the safe section when needed. Moving onto a lit section early is preferred over getting there late. The squad ignores Greens and heals through the damage. This option is faster due to the Vale Guardian being stationary for longer, but more dangerous due to ignoring Greens.
  2. Center — The tank keeps the Vale Guardian in the center, only moving to reposition to a safe section when needed. The squad ignores Greens and heal through the damage. As before, this method is the fastest but also the most dangerous.
  3. Around-the-world (uncommon) — The tank follows the lit section clockwise, positioning the boss near the interface between the unlit and lit sections. This can allow players to stand within Greens, but it is possible to have two or more green circles spawn in a section before moving to the next one (due to the timing of floor changing and the spawn time of the green circles). Moving onto a lit section early is preferred over getting there late, especially for the final phase. This option is safer due to always being two sections ahead of the floor, but slower because you need to keep moving.

The Vale Guardian also periodically stops moving then casts Magic Storm, flinging out balls of energy randomly around the arena. Its defiance bar will also unlock at this time. The Vale Guardian automatically cancels this attack after either 20 seconds, if the lit up section changes, or when its bar is broken (whichever happens first). Greens cannot spawn while its defiance bar is up, however those that spawn before the bar will still detonate. Players should thus immediately break the bar to mitigate the additional damage pressure and reposition the boss if needed.

Upon reaching 33% health, the Vale Guardian becomes invulnerable again then disappears shortly after.

Phase 4[edit]

The colored guardians reappear on their respective sections of the arena with no changes compared to the second phase. Players must defeat all 3 guardians again before engaging with the Vale Guardian for a final time.

Phase 5[edit]

This final phase is very similar to the third phase, however two sections will now be lit at the same time. The lit up sections rotate clockwise every 17 seconds, with the red pylon's section being the safe zone at the start of the phase.

Due to this timing change, having two or more green circles spawn in a section becomes a lot more dangerous. The tank should attempt to move the Vale Guardian to the next section as soon as it is unlit. If the squad is ignoring Greens, the tank should still position the boss onto a green circle if it is nearby or along the path to mitigate easily avoidable damage. The Magic Storm attack also becomes a lot more dangerous because the Vale Guardian will not move. Taking too long to break its defiance bar will certainly cause a green circle to spawn in the (now) newly lit up section.

The following changes will happen to the special mechanics:

  • Seekers - An additional Seeker will spawn in the center of the arena, along with one at each of the runes in the center of each section. There will be a total of 4 Seekers up at any time.
  • Blues - Targets all players regardless of proximity. If doing Greens, players should take care not to cover the entire green circle with these fields.

Spirit Woods[edit]

Locations of the Spectral Rifts.
Locations of the ground pads.
Part 1 - Spectral Rifts

After defeating the Vale Guardian, players get access to the encounter Spirit Woods and need to complete tasks to open gates and progress. To open the first gate, players must first kill all the spirits in the area to trigger the event.

After all the spirits are defeated Spectral Rifts will begin to spawn in addition to more spirits - 21 in total. Players have to stand inside of the Spectral Rifts for a period of time to close them and prevent them from dealing massive damage to all players, often wiping the run. The more players present in a given rift the faster its progress bar will move. Progress bars for each rift, as well as the overall progress on the encounter, can be seen in the upper right hand portion of the screen. The rifts spawn randomly in fixed locations. Two at east (near the River of Souls), one at north (near the gate), another at south (near the stairs) and another at west. Orange AoE attacks will spawn throughout the area and can knock players down. Faster movement skills, stability, and stun breaks are very useful to avoid this. Portal skills are very valuable here to cross large distances. There are also Adrenal Mushrooms that can be used to lower skill cooldowns if the mastery has been completed.

After opening the first gate, players enter the Abandoned Outpost. Killing all the spirits here opens the second gate. The brazier can be picked up and carried throughout the encounter to complete the Keep the Lights On achievement, and for access to the third hidden chest. Note, if the player holding the torch gets downed or killed or weapon swaps during the rest of the encounter the torch is lost.

Part 2 - Spirit Race

This part needs to be done as fast as possible. After landing from the ledge of the second gate, a massive wall of ghosts will start chasing the players. Players must close the Spectral Rifts while destroying the Ethereal Barriers. The first and second parts have 1 rift, the third part has 2 rifts and the fourth part has 3 rifts. Often 2-4 support players will stand in these to ensure all rifts get closed and the barriers destroyed.

Part 3 - Cemetery

At Bandit's Rest, 5 players need to stand on top of 5 ground pads to open the final gate. The first is past the staircase to the left in a small alcove. The rest of the group typically then attempt the jumping puzzle across the branch and mushrooms to reach the highest pad next to the gate. Once one person is successful there is a small building below that pad that contains the third one. The fourth is reached by going up the stairs to the left, the same ones used to reach the jumping puzzle, and continuing past the tree branch jump down to the lower ledge. The final pad is also to the right side of the area behind some buildings after going up the much smaller staircase. Once each of these pads has a person standing on it all at the same time the gate will open and the encounter will be completed. Note, a downed or defeated player cannot activate a button.

Gorseval the Multifarious[edit]

Health: 21,628,200
Enrage Timer: 7 minutes
Enrage Effect: Removes all updrafts and gains Vengeance (Mordrem).png Enraged, Increases damage dealt by 200%.
Fixation Mechanics: Highest toughness
Phase 1

To start the fight, players must glide onto the platform. Gorseval won't attack until the first person gets near it, so it is recommended to glide to the edge of the platform. Once the fight starts, Spirit Barriers will be erected around the platform and four Updraft (overhead icon).pngupdrafts will spawn in each corner.

Gorseval has two main attacks he will use throughout the fight: a swipe, which deals a small amount of damage to players in front; and a slam, which deals a moderate amount of damage and Knockback.png knocks back all nearby players. When you see it raise his arm high in the air, it is recommended to either block it with Aegis.png Aegis or Stability.png Stability, or dodge it.

Every once in a while he will teleport to the center of the platform and start channeling his Ghastly Rampage attack. During this time, Gorseval will gain a defiance bar and Vivid Echo.png Vivid Echo, which functions similarly to retaliation. While channeling this skill, parts of the arena will be filled with black goop in a set pattern which detonates after a few seconds. Players standing within the goop when it detonates will be dealt a large amount of damage and receive 25 stacks of Vulnerability.png Vulnerability. At the end of the channel, the entire platform will be covered in the black goop. Breaking the defiance bar will knockdown Gorseval and interrupt the attack; any black goop remaining after this attack was interrupted will still detonate. After this attack finishes, Gorseval will summon four Angered and/or an Enraged Spirit.

A short while after Ghostly Rampage ends, Gorseval channels the World Eater attack. A red circle will start expanding from the center of the platform, and once it completely fills the platform, all players and spirits still standing on the platform are instantly killed. In order to avoid this attack, players will need to reach the next phase by bringing Gorseval's health down to 66%, or destroy a spirit barrier and glide into an updraft before returning to the platform. Gorseval will gain one stack of Spirited Fusion.png Spirited Fusion for each spirit killed by this attack, therefore it is recommended to kill all spirits before gliding off. Shortly after returning, Gorseval will channel his Ghostly Rampage attack again.

Spirit Phase

When Gorseval reaches 66% HP he will gain Protective Shadow.png Protective Shadow, making him invulnerable, and move to the center. Four Charged Souls will spawn, each in a different part of the platform (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest) and begin walking towards Gorseval. If a spirit reaches Gorseval, he will immediately begin his World Eater attack. The spirits are immune to hard crowd control effects such as knockback or daze, but are susceptible to soft crowd control. Immobile.png Immobile, Chilled.png Chilled and Crippled.png Crippled work very well for slowing the spirit's progress towards Gorseval. Once all four spirits have been killed, Gorseval becomes vulnerable once again and the fight moves to the next phase.

Phase 2

This phase is the same as Phase 1 with one additional mechanic: Spectral Darkness.png Spectral Darkness (also known as orbs), which spawn periodically. They will emanate a circle that slowly increases in size. Any player that touches this circle will receive 10 stacks of Spectral Darkness.png Spectral Darkness, which reduces their outgoing damage by 10% per stack, and increases incoming damage by 10% per stack. To remove the effect, players must walk over golden orbs which spawn after an orb is destroyed. Each orb will drop two when it is destroyed, and each golden orb that you pick up will remove five stacks of Spectral Darkness.

Keeping the orbs under control in this phase is very important. Players should focus on destroying the ones that have spawned close to the center, by the Charged Souls or towards an updraft. Once Gorseval reaches 33% health there will be another Spirit Phase. It will largely be the same as last time, but with orbs spawning throughout.

Phase 3

In addition to the orbs, Gorseval gains another attack: Ghastly Prison.png Ghastly Prison (also known as eggs). After using his slam, small circles will appear under every player's feet. After a second, players standing within these circles will be encased in a cocoon. Players trapped in a Ghastly Prison will lose access to all of their skills and must break out of the prison using the skill  Rebel.png Rebel (default: 1). Players that are not trapped within a Ghastly Prison may help break them out by dealing damage to it. The pattern of Gorseval's Ghostly Rampage attack also changes during this phase. The fight continues in this way until Gorseval is defeated.

Bandits[edit]

After finishing the second boss of the raid, players will need to glide down to a nearby bandit camp. While passing through it, players will occasionally get tagged with Sapper Bombs (indicated by green circles under the players' feet). Players receiving the Sapper Bomb will also see the option to throw the bomb via their Special action key (default: -). Sapper bombs thrown on the launch pad will launch all players standing on said launch pad at the moment of impact. Players without the Explosive Launch mastery will be dealt a moderate amount of damage.

This event is good to learn how to throw Sapper Bombs and use launch pads. Killing all the Bandits here opens the Sabetha fight.

Sabetha the Saboteur[edit]

Health: 34,015,256
Enrage Timer: 9 minutes
Enrage Effect: All four cannons become active and gains Vengeance (Mordrem).png Enraged, increasing outgoing damage by 500%
Fixation Mechanics: None

This encounter also has a second "enrage timer" with the platform health bar. If this reaches zero, the boss platform collapses with all players and the encounter fails. This fight has no tanking mechanic and has two specialized player roles: flak kiter and cannons

Players must defeat Sabetha while dealing with her Bandit Champions upon reaching 75%, 50%, and 25% of her health. Other bandits will also periodically spawn throughout the fight: Bandit Arsonists apply high damage pressure and Burning.png Burning with their flamethrower, whereas Bandit Thugs Knockback.png Knockback players, kicking them into or out of mechanics. These enemies should ideally be pulled into the group and dealt with promptly.

Sabetha[edit]

Sabetha fires a shotgun blast at the closest player as part of her attack chain. She also has three (four after reaching 25%) repeating special mechanics for when she is on the main platform:

Flak Shot

Sabetha turns to then shoots flak at the furthest player, leaving moderately damaging fields that also apply burning. A player designated for the flak kiter role will bait these attacks onto the edges of the arena by being the furthest player away. The boss follows a relatively fixed, repeating attack pattern and performs a flak shot every third attack: ShotgunShotgunFlak Shot. Players can thus flak kite more aggressively by stacking with the group for healing and boons, then moving out immediately after the second shotgun shot. Any player can perform the flak kiter role, especially if kiting aggressively, however most groups will have a healer fill this role to maximize damage. At the start of the fight, this attack will always occur shortly after the first timed bomb mechanic (below).

Time Bomb

At the start of each Sabetha phase and every 15 seconds (except during a Flamewall), the player closest to Sabetha will be marked with Time Bomb.png Time Bomb, indicated by a clicking sound and a timed orange circle under them. The telegraph shows up slightly delayed (players will first be marked by this mechanic before the telegraph shows up). If this explodes, the marked player takes minor damage and unmarked players take heavy damage. This damage cannot be dodged or evaded, so the marked player should spread away from the group until it explodes. If this is not possible, players can negate the damage through blocks. Additionally, the skill cooldown for this mechanic causes it to usually occur at the start of every other flak attack chain (see above) and right after a flamewall.

After reaching 50%, Sabetha will now mark two players for this mechanic. There is a short delay until the second player gets their bomb.

It is ideal for the flak kiter to bait the first Time Bomb, so that they can spread out while also baiting the flak shot. This is easily done by having the flak kiter enter the arena first and not have any player closer to the boss until the first Time Bomb.

Flamewall

Every 45 seconds Sabetha targets a random player then spawns a flamewall, indicated by a red arrow. This will rotate 360 degrees counter-clockwise around the platform in slow motion, defeating all players that touch it. The flamewall normally cannot be evaded or blocked; however, a very lucky evade frame or well-timed invulnerability might keep players alive. These methods should only be used as a last resort. When returning to the main platform, Sabetha will always perform this attack first (aimed roughly towards the entrance instead of a random player) unless it is still on cooldown.

The flamewall becomes more difficult to outrun the further a player is from the origin due to needing to run a larger distance. Players on the outer edge should therefore run to the center at the angle and prioritize reaching the center as soon as possible. Otherwise, players can blink to the safe side of the flamewall.

Players should ideally stack together towards the upcoming cannon spawn to avoid any 'bad' flamewall spawns during the cannon mechanic (below).

Platform Crush (Below 25%)

Sabetha additionally causes debris to continuously fall onto the platform, dealing low damage to both the players and the platform. This begins a soft enrage timer where players must defeat Sabetha before the platform gets destroyed.

Cannons and Sapper Bombs[edit]

Every 30 seconds and throughout the fight (xx:00 and xx:30), a cannon will spawn on a nearby perch and begin continuously firing at the main platform below. If not destroyed, these cannons will not only apply heavy damage pressure to a quadrant of the arena, but also reduce the platform health. These cannons spawn in a repeating, fixed pattern:
[South → West → North → East] → [South → North → West → East]

The main platform contains four jump pads, each facing a perch on which a cannon can spawn. The following sequence of events will help temporarily activate these pads:

A Bandit Sapper will spawn periodically on the side of the platform opposite of the next cannon. About five seconds after spawning (and if not affected by disabling skills), they will mark a player with a timed  Sapper Bomb.png Sapper Bomb special action skill, also indicated by a clicking sound, orange border on the screen, and a green circle below the player. The sapper bomb will time out after a few seconds and must be thrown on the jump pads located at the four corners of the platform. All players standing on the launch pads at the time will be sent up to the platform on that side. Players without the Explosive Launch mastery will take damage when launched by the sapper bomb. The Bandit Sapper will continue marking players with a sapper bomb until it is defeated.

The sapper bomb can be consistently baited by being the western-most player within their range about five seconds before the Sapper spawns (xx:00 and xx:30, same as cannon spawn times). Flak kiters are ideal at baiting the sapper bombs because will need to be the furthest player away either way for the flak shots. If flak kiting and sapper bomb baiting, the flak kiter should position themselves on the western-side of the arena for the majority of the fight.

Players that have been launched will be afflicted with Shell-Shocked.png Shell-Shocked, rendering them unable to be launched by another sapper bomb for 50 seconds. Players on cannon duty are recommended (but not required) to use teleport and other movement skills to reach the launch pads more quickly. Avoid using invulnerability skills while on the launch pad as this will negate the launch.

Because cannons spawn every 30 seconds, a minimum of two players are required to handle the cannons. The 1,3 cannon will handle the first then every other cannon. The 2,4 cannon will handle the second then every other cannon. Less experienced groups may use four players, one for each direction. Cannon players should be on their launch pad by about xx:25 and xx:55 due to the delay in receiving the sapper bomb. If a cannon is missed, it is generally best to ignore it next comes up in the pattern. This will prevent the chance of having the Shell-Shocked debuff while needing to be launched towards the next cannon of the rotation.

The launched player should destroy the cannon before gliding back to the main platform. An unreachable Bandit Sniper will constantly fire at them and apply the Target!.png Target! debuff, increasing damage taken from subsequent attacks. Players should thus focus on destroying the cannon quickly to avoid downing. Take care to avoid the flamewall while gliding back. A one-use updraft can be used to wait for an opportune time to glide in.

Bandit Champions (Kernan, "Knuckles", Karde)[edit]

Health: 3,440,850 (Kernan and "Knuckles"), 4,423,950 (Karde)

Sabetha shadowsteps off the platform at 75%, 50%, and 25% of her health. A Bandit Champion takes her place and players must take care to avoid their special attacks. Sabetha may also appear on some cannon platforms, but will be invulnerable and ignore the player. She will return to the main platform either after a minute or when her champion has reached 25% health. If her flamewall is ready, Sabetha will first use this skill upon returning. Her champion should be prioritized before focusing on her.

During these phases, Sabetha will toss timed Heavy Bombs onto the platform at random locations. Players must interact with these bombs and kick them away before they explode for heavy damage to the platform. They will also knock nearby players back.

Kernan (75%)

Kernan will shoot players for minor damage and can chase them around the platform. Every few seconds, she will fire three consecutive cone attacks in one direction, with each attack increasing in damage and size. Players can sidestep these attacks, prioritizing the avoidance of the final attack.

"Knuckles" (50%)

"Knuckles" will swing his hammer at players for minor damage. Every 30 seconds, his Defiance bar will unlock as he charges up a massive hammer swing that will knock all players up then outwards. Breaking the bar will interrupt this attack and prevent players from possibly getting knocked off the platform. If hit by this attack, players can avoid the knockback by immediately deploying their glider when launched up in the air.

Karde (25%)

Karde will occasionally target a player then fires his flamethrower at their direction, heavily damaging and applying burning to players caught in it. He will also summon flame turrets around the arena that shoot out flaming projectiles. These turrets can grow in number and should be destroyed quickly to reduce the damage pressure. Unlike the other two champions, Karde takes additional damage from conditions.

NPCs[edit]

Allies[edit]

Asura
Charr
Insect
Norn
Sylvari
Various

Foes[edit]

Bandits
Ghosts
Elementals
Saurians
Unknown

Objects[edit]

Chests
Mushrooms

Dialogue[edit]

Upon entering and passing the pact camp, one of the following
<Squad member>: Let's get to work.
<Squad member>: All right. Let's find these soldiers.
Approaching Squad Leader Falgeir
Squad Leader Falgeir has multiple possible ambient dialogues at this point.
One of these lines:
Squad Leader Falgeir: Bandits attacked our platoon, inflicted heavy casualties on us. They captured one of our squads and went that way.
Squad Leader Falgeir: Our platoon was ambushed. The enemy captured an entire squad and took them deep into the woods.
Squad Leader Falgeir: They took our squad hostage and brought them deeper into the woods. We have to find them.
Squad Leader Falgeir: Those troops will die if we don't get to them in time. Bandits took them deep into the woods.
Squad Leader Falgeir: We never saw them coming. They killed some of our soldiers and took the rest hostage. We need to find them.
Squad Leader Falgeir: Before you ask, no, I'm not the missing recon squad leader. Nothing's ever easy, right?
Followed by one of these lines:
Squad Leader Falgeir: Be careful. Sabetha won't think twice about burning you alive if you make it into the woods.
Squad Leader Falgeir: Find our squad. Sabetha will kill them if you don't reach them in time.
Squad Leader Falgeir: Sabetha took the squad straight ahead. Her sentries are blocking the way. Get ready for a serious fight.
Squad Leader Falgeir: Stay alert out there. Sabetha is ruthless, and her defenses are like nothing I've seen before.
Squad Leader Falgeir: Watch yourself on the battlefield. Sabetha and her crew fight dirty. Her guardians are lethal.
Upon approaching the Guardians, one of the following
Squad Leader Falgeir: Why don't they die? Where are they coming from?
Squad Leader Falgeir: We keep killing them and they keep coming back. How is that possible?
Squad Leader Falgeir: Cease fire! Cease fire!
Squad Leader Falgeir: Cease fire! Cease fire! Friendlies in the area.
Squad Leader Falgeir: We've got friendlies in the zone. Watch your fire!
Squad Leader Falgeir: Come on. Shell those things to the Mists!
Squad Leader Falgeir: Watch your elevation, damn it! You're missing your target!
Upon defeating the Vale Guardian, one of the following
<Squad member>: These towers powered that guardian. Or summoned it.
<Sylvari squad member>: What are these towers? Are they for a ritual or some other purpose?
<Squad member>: Magic pylons. Did they summon those creatures?
<Human squad member>: These towers don't look like anything I've seen before. Who made them?
<Asura squad member>: Pylons. Did they power those beings...or create them?
<Human or sylvari squad member>: There may be more clues around the arena. We should search here and by that wall.
Upon entering the left platform near the wall
<Human squad member>: This looks human-built, but something feels off.
<Squad member>: Pact airship parts. What are they doing here? The squad came in on foot. They weren't airlifted.
Upon interacting with a Journal Entry
<Squad member>: Hmm. What's this?
Upon interacting with a Fallen Pact Soldier
<Squad member>: What would bandits want with a Pact squad?
Upon interacting with a Pact Scout
One of the following:
<Squad member>: Crushed... Did a storm blow these trees down?
<Squad member>: Crushed. What a way to go. I wonder what knocked these trees down? A storm?
Upon entering the Spirit Woods, one of the following
<Human squad member>: The footprints head this way. We're on their trail.
<Norn squad member>: Soldier tracks. They came through here and left in a hurry.
<Sylvari squad member>: Boot prints. They ran through this area. Why didn't they return?
<Asura squad member>: Footprints. They came through here...and never made it back to camp.
After entering deeper into the Woods
Mysterious Voice: Who released us?
Mysterious Voice: What's going on?
Enraged Spirit: You. You did this to us!
(one of the following)
<Human squad member>: You're confused. We did nothing to you. Let us through!
<Norn squad member>: You're mistaken. Go back where you came from.
<Asura squad member>: Incorrect. We did nothing to you. Let us pass!
<Sylvari squad member>: We did nothing of the sort. Let us pass!
Walking near the skulls
<Asura squad member>: Shallow graves. These bodies were left here a long time ago. There's almost nothing left of them.
<Asura squad member>: Human remains. This is a mass grave of sorts, possibly very old.
<Sylvari squad member>: Bodies were stacked here. Whoever did this cared little for human life.
<Sylvari squad member>: Their bodies were placed here in shallow graves. There's an oppressive sadness in the earth.
<Charr squad member>: Shallow graves. These bodies were dumped here years ago.
<Norn squad member>: Shallow graves. Bodies hastily buried. Whoever did this had little respect for life.
<Human squad member>: So many bodies. This is a mass grave.
Mysterious Voice: Who's there? Answer me!
<Squad member>: These spirits weren't soldiers. They were ordinary people.
<Sylvari squad member>: How long have you roamed this land? You poor souls.
<Squad member>: These ghosts are angry. They didn't die of natural causes.
<Squad member>: What is that?
<Squad member>: What's this...
Interacting with the dead bandit
(one of the following)
<Human/norn squad member>: Hmm. What's this?
<Sylvari squad member>: Hello there...
<Charr squad member>: What's this...
<Asura squad member>: What do we have here...
Nameless dead bandit: The body is warm. Apparently this bandit couldn't outrun the thing that killed her.
Talk end option tango.png Step away.
Further into the Woods, one of the following
<Squad member>: These people died horribly. They're confused. Angry.
<Sylvari squad member>: They were led to their deaths. They don't understand why they're trapped here.
<Charr squad member>: These ghosts aren't from the Foefire, that's for sure. (maybe charr specific)
<Asura squad member>:These humans met a terrible end. They are confused. Angry.
<Human squad member>: Did Sabetha murder these villagers and bind their spirits here?
<Charr squad member>: Did Sabetha kill these humans and bind their spirits here?
<Asura squad member>: Did Sabetha kill these humans and bind their spirits here?
<Norn squad member>: Did Sabetha slaughter these people and bind their spirits here?
<Sylvari squad member>: Did Sabetha bind these spirits here?
Mysterious Voice: We fight as one.
<Norn squad member>: That's no ordinary beast.
Reaching the ledge
<Squad member>: I have a bad feeling about this.
<Squad member>: I sense sadness. And anger.
<Asura squad member>: There's a chill in the air. Something's not right.
<Norn squad member>: We're not alone here.
<Charr squad member>: I don't like the look of this place.
Escaping the wall of spirits
Mysterious Voice: Who released us?
Mysterious Voice: What's going on?
Mysterious Voice: You. You did this to us!
Run from the spirits.
<Squad member>: Run!
Mysterious Voice: (low growl)
One of the following:
Mysterious Voice: (in pain)
Mysterious Voice: Too much. Too much!
Mysterious Voice: Kept us from our homes. Our families. Trapped us here! And now...this!
If the spirits reach a barrier and you fail to escape
The vengeful spirits have reached a barrier, unleashing a magic shock wave.
Upon reaching the cemetery at Bandit's Rest, two of the following.
Mysterious Voice: (agonized scream)
Mysterious Voice: Kept us from our homes. Our families. Trapped us here! And now... this!
Mysterious Voice: Too much. Too much!
<Human squad member>: The squad was taken through here. Come on.
One of the following:
<Human(?) squad member>: Watch your step through here.
<Squad member>: Be careful.
<Asura squad member>: Move carefully.
Investigating the gate
One of the following:
<Squad member>: The gate has multiple locks, like it takes more than one person to open.
<Asura squad member>: The gate seems to have multiple mechanisms, as if to allow groups through instead of individuals.
<Charr squad member>: The gate mechanism looks engineered for multiple troops.
<Sylvai squad member>: The gate has multiple locks. We need to find a way to operate them at the same time.
Opening the gate
One of the following:
<Squad member>: These spirits have wandered for years. They didn't die in the war.
<Human squad member>: These spirits are old. These people died a long time ago–well before the war.
<Asura squad member>: These spirits have been wandering for a long time. They didn't die in the war.
<Norn squad member>: Old spirits. They didn't die in the war; they were killed long before.
<Charr squad member>: These people weren't killed in the war. They died a long time ago.
Near the chest on a large pillar
One of the following:
<Charr/human squad member>: Time to glide.
<Asura squad member>: Only one way across. Time to fly.
<Norn squad member>: Raven, don't fail me now.
<Charr squad member>: Time to spread my wings.
<Sylvari squad member>: No turning back now. We'll have to glide across.
Upon seeing Gorseval the Multifarious, one of the following
<Human squad member>: Gods. What is that?
<Human squad member>: By the Six... What is that?
<Asura squad member>: What in the Eternal Alchemy is that?
<Sylvari squad member>: Mother, give me strength.
<Charr squad member>: You've gotta be kidding.
<Norn squad member>: Just when I thought I'd seen it all...
Upon engaging, one of the following
Gorseval the Multifarious: We fight together!
Gorseval the Multifarious: And we will have our revenge!
Gorseval the Multifarious: You did this to us!
Gorseval the Multifarious: You won't survive against us.
When casting Ghastly Rampage
Gorseval the Multifarious: Accept your fate!
Gorseval the Multifarious: Crumble!
Gorseval the Multifarious: Harvest their souls!
Gorseval the Multifarious: Spare no one!
Gorseval the Multifarious: Suffer!
Gorseval the Multifarious: Tremble!
Gorseval the Multifarious: We will consume you.
Gorseval the Multifarious: We will rend you of your flesh. Your spirits will join us.
Gorseval the Multifarious: You will not escape.
Gorseval the Multifarious: Your souls will join our ranks.
Gorseval the Multifarious: You are few. We are many.
After the first spirit phase, one of the following
<Human squad member>: It's not a single spirit. It's dozens.
<Norn squad member>: That's not one ghost — that's an entire haunting!
<Charr squad member>: That thing has an army of ghosts. We have to kill them all!
<Asura squad member>: It's a cluster of frenzied spirits. An abomination of nature.
<Sylvari squad member>: That's not a single creature. It's made up of spirits. Lots of spirits.
When summoning spirits, one of the following
Gorseval the Multifarious: Defend us!
Gorseval the Multifarious: Destroy their bodies! Claim their spirits!
When using World Eater, one of the following
The world erodes around you.
When summoning Charged Souls, one of the following
Gorseval the Multifarious: Give us your energy!
Gorseval the Multifarious: Give us your power!
Gorseval the Multifarious: Give us your strength.
Gorseval beckons for souls.
If Gorseval consumes a Charged Soul
Gorseval has trapped your soul. There is no escape.
When orbs pulsing Spectral Darkness spawn
Darkness closes in. Seek light if the darkness envelopes you.
When spectral prisons begin appearing
Ghostly traps materialize at your feet.
Upon defeating Gorseval
Sabetha the Saboteur: They made it through the woods. Everyone to the front. I want them captured or dead!
Engaging the bandits at the entrance of their tree fort past Gorseval's Perch
Sabetha the Saboteur: Intruders! Tear them apart!
Sabetha the Saboteur: One hundred gold for each head. Get chopping!
One of the following
<Human squad member>: You're going down!
<Norn squad member>: Enjoy your last moments!
<Charr squad member>: I'll tear you apart!
<Asura squad member>: Prepare to be disassembled!
<Sylvari squad member>: Prepare to die!
Pact Soldier: We're up here! Help us!
Ascending the bandit tree fort
Sabetha the Saboteur: Useless! What do I pay you for? I'll deal with them myself.
Occasionally:
Pact Soldier: Help!
Pact Soldier: Over here! Hurry!
Pact Soldier: Over here!
Pact Soldier: We're up here! Help us!
Upon reaching Sabetha
One of the following
<Human squad member>: It's over. Drop those weapons and free these prisoners!
<Asura squad member>: Drop your weapons and release the prisoners, or we'll tear this place apart.
<Sylvari squad member>: You're finished. Put down your arms and release these prisoners!
<Charr squad member>: Release the prisoners. Now!
<Norn squad member>: Your operation is done here. Release these prisoners. Now!
Sabetha the Saboteur: You came all this way for a few soldiers? You really have no idea what's in this compound, do you?
Sabetha the Saboteur: Only the worthy are taken inside. Like the squad leader.
Pact Soldier: Help!
Sabetha the Saboteur: Your little journey ends here!
Prior to engaging Sabetha
Sabetha the Saboteur: Useless! What do I pay you for? I'll deal with them myself.
Sabetha the Saboteur: Surrender or die!
Sabetha the Saboteur: Prepare the cages! We've got some visitors!
Prior to executing her Flamethrower attack
Sabetha the Saboteur: Burn. Burn!
When summoning Kernan, one of the following
Sabetha the Saboteur: Kernan, blast them full of holes. Spatter their entrails!
When summoning "Knuckles", one of the following
Sabetha the Saboteur: Knuckles, take care of them!
"Knuckles": Stop it!
Sabetha the Saboteur: Knuckles, take care of them!
"Knuckles": Stop calling me that!
Sabetha the Saboteur: Knuckles, knock them off the platform!
One of the following
"Knuckles": You know I hate that name...
"Knuckles": You know I hate that nickname!
When "Knuckles" reaches low health
"Knuckles": I can take you to it! I can lead you to–
Sabetha the Saboteur: Bite your tongue!
When summoning Karde
Sabetha the Saboteur: Karde, fry these pests!
One of the following:
Karde: Prepare to die.
Upon defeating the player group, one of the following
Sabetha the Saboteur: Nice try, "heroes."
Sabetha the Saboteur: Better luck next time, ladies.
Sabetha the Saboteur: Aw, does it hurt?
After defeating Sabetha
One of the following
<Human squad member>: All right, people. Listen up.
<Charr squad member>: Ok, everyone. Gather 'round.
<Asura squad member>: OK, everyone. Let's convene.
<Sylvari squad member>: Everyone, listen.
<Norn squad member>: ?
<Squad member>: There's more to this situation than we thought. These bandits were protecting something and we need to find out what.
<Squad member>: We need to free these prisoners, and then find out where the squad leader was taken.
Rescuing Pact soldiers
Primary article: Pact Prisoner

Notes[edit]

Trivia[edit]

The Spirit Vale Cat.
  • If you use Rift Travel to visit Scholar Glenna up in the crashed airship, there is a grey tabby cat behind her. Similar to the cat in Scholar's Cleft, it is not an NPC, as it has no overhead name and cannot be clicked on, is a unique model and is most likely the cat of one of the game's designers. However, unlike the Scholar's Cleft cat, this cat only shakes its head and makes no other movement.

See also[edit]

External links[edit]