To Kill a God

To Kill a God

Year

1330 AE

Storyline

Path of Fire

Chapter

To Kill a God

Location

Kodash Bazaar
(Domain of Vabbi)

Level

80

Preceded by

Beast of War

Followed by

Small Victory (Epilogue)

API

481

Click to enlarge

To Kill a God is the twelfth chapter of the Path of Fire storyline.

Objectives

Bring an end to the god of fire's ambitions, once and for all.

• Confront Balthazar.
• Kill Balthazar.
• Optional: Draw on Aurene's power when it overflows.
• Check in with your team.

Rewards

• Piece of Common Unidentified Gear (3)
• Battered Forged Components
• Balthazar's Sealed Cask
• Elonian Coat Box

Walkthrough

Note that this mission begins immediately after Beast of War finishes - you may wish to exit the instance first and talk to Taimi at a Contact Point to avoid missing a progress point for the "Always Time for Taimi" achievement.

Once more, you face Balthazar in combat, this time wielding the god-made blade Sohothin.

As is to be expected, the god of war is a formidable opponent, using powerful AoE attacks and aided by endless hordes of Forged hounds. But you're not facing him alone: as soon as he loses 10% of his health, Aurene appears to assist you. She'll drop bright orbs that grant barrier and  Gift of the Scion; at other times she will envelop herself in a glowing sphere and offer to share her power with you. Stand inside the sphere to receive temporary invulnerability and  Dragon's Rage.

Most of Balthazar's attacks telegraph themselves clearly using orange markers on the floor; thus, most of his attacks can be avoided with good reflexes. He will perform a slam attack that sends out a fiery shockwave that knocks back; this can be jumped over to save endurance. Don't be afraid to switch back to your normal weapons (use weapon swap) if you find yourself struggling to avoid Balthazar's AoEs due to unfamiliarity with Sohothin; it will "sheathe" to your special action key, allowing you to take it out again any time you wish.

Balthazar will occasionally shield himself and begin to charge up his ultimate attack - the one that killed you last time. The only way to stop him is to coordinate with Aurene. Break her out of her chains, then run to the blue circle near Balthazar's shield and press your special action key to perform the Coordinated Attack (unlocked). At other times, Balthazar will shield himself using Dire Shield Generators; destroy these on sight.

Eventually, you'll deliver the final blow and witness the death of a god. You'll be dazed by the  Divine Fallout. Aurene flies off, leaving you to confer with your dazed friends, who agree to reconvene at Amnoon.

Achievements

To Kill a God	Path of Fire: Act 3	1  1
Complete the To Kill a God mission.Journal: To Kill a God Completed Reward: Stash of Kournan Coins	Completed To Kill a God	1

• Complete the instance.

Who Needs a Magic Sword?	Path of Fire: Act 3	5
Kill Balthazar without using Sohothin.Story Mission: To Kill a God	Killed Balthazar without Using Sohothin	5

• Note that this achievement is only available to the instance owner and not to other party members.
• Weapon swap to return to your normal skills; Sohothin will be "sheathed" to your special action key. As your joint attack with Aurene also uses the special action key, take care not to accidentally unsheathe it.
• If you are downed or defeated, you will automatically re-equip Sohothin upon revival. So long as you do not hit Balthazar with any of Sohothin's skills you can "resheath" and still progress the achievement.
• Hidden Achievement not shown in the Mastery panel for Act 3.
• Achievement qualification may be tracked via the  Who Needs a Magic Sword effect. The achievement will be awarded during the cutscene if successful.

Won't Get Killed Again	Path of Fire: Act 3	3
Don't get killed by Balthazar's Ultimate Attack.Story Mission: To Kill a God	Survived Balthazar's Ultimate Attack	3

• Note that this achievement is only available to the instance owner and not to other party members.
• Balthazar uses his Ultimate Attack if you fail to perform the joint attack with Aurene in time.
• Achievement qualification may be tracked via the  Won't Get Killed Again effect. The achievement will be awarded during the cutscene if successful.

NPCs

Allies

Charr

• Rytlock Brimstone

Dragons

• Aurene

Humans

• Lady Kasmeer Meade

Sylvari

• Canach

Foes

Elder Dragons

• Kralkatorrik

Forged

• Hound of Balthazar

Gods

• Balthazar

Objects

• Balthazar's Grasp
• Dire Shield Generator
• Flame Hammer

Dialogue

Balthazar: So, the commander of the Dragon's Watch guild...

Balthazar: ...now stands alone...

Balthazar: ...against the god of war...

Balthazar: ...armed with nothing but a sword...

Balthazar: ...and the foolish belief...

Balthazar: ...that you've...

Balthazar: ...just...

Balthazar: ...accomplished...

Balthazar: ...something.

<Character name>: I've stopped you from destroying Tyria. That's "something."

Balthazar: You've stopped nothing. My warbeast has weakened Kralkatorrik.

Balthazar: All I need to finish the task is the scion trapped behind me.

<Character name>: Then I guess we're not finished here.

Balthazar: This has gone on long enough.

Balthazar: Kralkatorrik's magic will be mine.

<Character name>: Aurene! Glad to see you in one piece. Let's keep it that way.

<Character name>: Stay close, and let's coordinate our attacks.

When Balthazar reaches 75%

Balthazar: Why won't you die and be done with it?

When Balthazar reaches 65%^{[verification requested]}

Balthazar: Impudent newt! You're of no use to me dead, but half dead will still work.

<Character name>: Dream on. I'll die before I let you hurt her again.

When Balthazar reaches 45%

<Character name>: I can't let you do this.

Balthazar: You can't stop me.

When Balthazar reaches 35%^{[verification requested]}

Balthazar: Stump of a dragon! You're becoming a nuisance.

<Character name>: The god of war prefers to fight infants?

Balthazar: The god of war prefers to win.

When Balthazar reaches 25%

Balthazar: You, a dragon slayer, now claim to be their champion?

<Character name>: I can fix what I've done, but only if Kralkatorrik lives.

Balthazar: No. What you started...I will finish.

When Balthazar reaches 15%

Balthazar: You cannot win. The gods have abandoned this world. Abandoned you.

<Character name>: No, they abandoned you.

When Balthazar reaches 10%

Balthazar: I am fire! I am war! What are you?

<Character name>: Still standing.

When Balthazar reaches 1%

Balthazar: No!

Balthazar: I am a god!

Balthazar: Curse you, Dwayna!

Balthazar: Melandru!

Balthazar: Betraying one of your own!

Balthazar: Grenth!

Balthazar: Kormir!

Balthazar: May the fires...

Balthazar: ...take...

Balthazar: ...you...

Balthazar: ...all!

<Character name>: Don't be a sore loser.

After Balthazar's death

<Character name>: Aurene, look out!

<Character name>: Ahhh...!

<Character name>: Aurene, no...

<Character name>: Aurene...?

Canach: Commander, are you okay?

Rytlock Brimstone: Where's Balthazar?

<Character name>: Dead.

<Character name>: Balthazar was determined to kill an Elder Dragon, and we stopped him. The world is safe...for now.

Lady Kasmeer Meade: Is Aurene okay?

<Character name>: She saved my life. But then she ran off.

<Character name>: Probably not safe to stay here. We should meet up back in Amnoon to discuss what to do next.

Lady Kasmeer Meade: See you back in Amnoon.

My story

“ With an enraged, wounded Kralkatorrik overhead and Aurene backing me up, I squared off for the final showdown against Balthazar. It was brutal, but with Sohothin in hand and Aurene on my side, I prevailed. The god of fire and war is dead. However, even in death, Balthazar managed to disrupt the world's balance. As he fell, all the magic he had acquired erupted out of his broken body and was promptly absorbed by both Kralkatorrik and Aurene. Once this magical storm subsided, both the Crystal Elder Dragon and its scion were gone. So this victory planted the seeds of our next dire challenge: How will we deal with two unpredictable and dangerously powerful dragons, now that they've gorged themselves on Balthazar's magic? I don't have the answers yet, but my team and I are going to regroup in Amnoon to figure out our next move. — My story

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Path of Fire storyline

Act 1	Sparking the Flame (Prologue) → Sparking the Flame → Blazing a Trail → Night of Fires → The Sacrifice
Act 2	Crystalline Memories → Hallowed Ground → Facing the Truth → The Way Forward
Act 3	The Departing → Bringing Out the Archon → Enemy of My Enemy → Beast of War → To Kill a God → Small Victory (Epilogue)
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