How many completed the pof story solo?

Heraldusluminare.2946 · January 23, 2019

Solo'ed HOT and POF because I have no friends. :(

On the upside, I've learned how to attack stuff while staying out of glowy red circles, so I guess there's that?

Can imagine how frustrating it must be to be to be constantly flat on the floor (the woes of a scholar with squishy gear), but trust me - it gets super rewarding when you finally learn Big Bad's rotation and serve him a dish of pain.

LucianDK.8615 · January 23, 2019

Finished pof alone, unlike hot. Much better difficulty. Hearts and minds is a much worser solo experience.

yann.1946 · January 23, 2019

ascended equipment doesn't do that much in comparison. Also legendarys gave the same stats as ascended.

Do try to get full exotic with a reasonable Stat combination and you should be set.

Mea.5491 · January 23, 2019

Solo'd whole PoF with Celestial core Engi and Celestial Firebrand, I didn't even get downed. In fact, I solo'd every single story mission except for Hearts & Minds, that one's annoying because the boss fights reset and have a lot of bugs (getting 10 stacks of Burning during the Eir fight for some unknown reason is not fun lol).

Yannir.4132 · January 23, 2019

> @"Tiviana.2650" said:

> I love the implications it was a one shot for you all and i should git gud amiright. The passive aggression is strong here.

It's not really passive aggression, there's just the implication that if you can't complete the instance when 80% of players can(the rest probably do it with a friend/guildie), then the issue is either your build, gear or skill. As you haven't accurately stated what build/gear you are using and the fact that you're a new player, people assume it's the skill aspect that is your issue because it's only natural. There's a learning curve.

Having Ascended gear isn't really that meaningful, full Ascended/Legendary vs full Exotic is only about a 5-10% difference in optimal DPS. Having a single wrong trait or messing up a rotation step can be a far bigger DPS loss. For example, as a Firebrand simply forgetting to drop a symbol before going into the F1 tome is on average about a ~10% Power DPS loss and ~8% Condi DPS Loss.

Can't really help you with Ranger though, as it's not a class I play in PvE so I'm not well versed in things Ranger.

Gehenna.3625 · January 23, 2019

I have completed it solo and if I remember right you get the sword Sohothin to use and you have a bit of an army and lots of enemies also in that fight. The key for this fight is in the use of the sword of Sohothin. It can do some big damage on groups and the way I did it was to clear a lot of the adds first before attacking the warbeast. This also clears some allies up which is helpful. But it's really just a matter of getting used to Sohothin and jump around doing damage and then running out again till you want to do your next attack. Staying in the fray can be lethal if you don't watch it. Same with the warbeast. When needed run out of the fight for a few seconds to recover and go back in again. In GW2 you can't really tank stuff and just stand still a lot and you only have a couple of dodges before they need to regenerate.

It's ok to also do some damage to the warbeast while clearing adds as well. Personally I use a celestial build on my guardian because it gives me better defenses. My dps is slower because of it but that's usually not a problem in the story because there are usually gimmicks or mechanics to damage the boss. In this case it's Sohothin. Next time you go in focus on learning how to use those abilities rather than focusing on winning the fight. It goes a lot easier once you get the hang of that weapon.

Leon de Damasco.8105 · January 23, 2019

Hello!

13 times.

The 9 different classes, 2 times with some (2 Elementalist, 2 Warriors, 2 Necromancer and 2 Thiefs). Each time with different builds. Sometimes with my own weapons first because I used to play with those, and second because there is an Achievement about to make it in that way. Yes, mostly ascend (maybe you stopped reading here, but...) but Ascend OR Legendary have just about +5% more statistics than their Exotic counterpart.

First, about Sohothin (Rytlock's sword) Skill number 2. Since you has been trying with the same class, you maybe didn't notice it changes from one class to another, and that what Khisanth is means.

Second, talking about Sohothin, I don't know why you means about "your weapons do not damage". I means, I know what you saying, but your weapons indeed deal damage. You don't need to use Sohothin at all if you don't like the skills, if you trying new builds and testing, even (as I said) we have an Achievement if you want to do it in that way.

Third, as many other people in the post are pointing, in Guild Wars 2 the key is the mechanics and how good you read it. Don't try the same one time and another if you see it is not working. Since you are SB, you can figth all the battle using your pets, using distance, or change to Ranger for it. You can drop Sohothin entirely or use it just in bursting phases. Change your mind, change skills...

At last but not least, none here in this post is implying nothing about your skills as player or any other things. People usually offer advice and tips about encounters, all depends on how you come and how you ask.

Have fun and good luck.

Shadowmoon.7986 · January 23, 2019

I found it too easy.

Turin.6921 · January 23, 2019

Finished solo with 5 chars with basically dps builds with no defense. The fight is literally a puzzle. The first time can indeed be a nightmare till you figure out how the fight works. If you recognize the patterns thought it becomes amazingly easy. the second time around you can finish it with one hand tied behind your back.

Just do not go blindly into the fight expecting to faceroll yourself through (well you can since you cannot really lose but its is not a fun way to do it). Just try and learn the attacks the patterns and the telegraphs, learn the places you should never stand on (like under it) and do not get greedy with when to strike. If you are patient with the mechanics its a real breeze to finish.

Randulf.7614 · January 23, 2019

Twice solo, once on warrior, once on ele. Fairly certain i died at least once or twice mid fight though.

Make sure you always use rytlocks sword if you arent. I cant remember many other tips are than keep moving and dont get stuck under him

Turkeyspit.3965 · January 23, 2019

> @"Tiviana.2650" said:

> I cant finish because the warbeast fight is kitten hard to survive. I dont know how many times i have died now and had to restart the thing all over because my armor was broken. Does this fight feel artificially hard to anyone else? I just wonder how many have done it solo as a new 80 without ascended gear. I am finding a lot of these encounters with one shot mechanics that leave you no time to move seem a bit much. I am getting rather regretful i purchased the games tbh, seems like i cant get anywhere on my own. And honestly i have always been a solo player in most games, only grouping for raids and such, feels sad that i cant do much in this game, disappointing really i really wanted GW2 to be my new go to game.

I'm up to the recent chapter of living story, but have soloed everything from Core onward, except Season 2 (which I don't have).

In all that content, there are only 3 fights that stand out:

1. Balthazar

2. Caduceus

3. Mordremoth

As we were cautioned in Zelda games though, "it's dangerous to go alone". Don't be shy and ask for help from friends or guild members. But in general Path of Fire and Heart of Thorns content is much harder than core tyria.

Wizler.8192 · January 23, 2019

I did the whole story solo but the last fight was tough and I died so many times that ALL of my armor was broken and my character was down to his underwear! I took a screenshot to preserve the epic moment of heroic deeds done in my boxers.

Biff.5312 · January 23, 2019

I did it with a core ranger. The only hard part for me was Balth, which was a nightmare and I died MANY times. The rest was perfectly manageable though.

Biff.5312 · January 23, 2019

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> In all that content, there are only 3 fights that stand out:

> 1. Balthazar

> 2. Caduceus

> 3. Mordremoth

And even Caudecus was only hard because I couldn't see anything. The mechanic itself was pretty simple.

Eekasqueak.7850 · January 23, 2019

I've completed it solo quite a few times now, but I guess I can kind of optimize a fair bit.

Yargesh.4965 · January 23, 2019

I have finished it 3 times, once reaper, once core ranger and once core warrior. The only problem I had with the step you are talking about is when I dodged into the warbeast and it crushed me. Other that that the extra mobs have low hp and the towers can be ranged while strafing to avoid damage.

Cerioth.7062 · January 23, 2019

I have done the final story mission like 5-6 times on different characters, in glassy gear like berserker or viper. I barely ever die to any of the PoF encounters.

wanya.1697 · January 23, 2019

@Tiviana.2650

here a random video of the fight

maybe you can tell us more at which points you had problems

normally soloing with a ranger is no problem at all as you can let your pet do the tanking

Khisanth.2948 · January 23, 2019

> @"Biff.5312" said:

> > @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

>

> > In all that content, there are only 3 fights that stand out:

> > 1. Balthazar

> > 2. Caduceus

> > 3. Mordremoth

>

> And even Caudecus was only hard because I couldn't see anything. The mechanic itself was pretty simple.

>

Also CC spam from boss and the elementals' suicide attack/death...

Kal Spiro.9745 · January 23, 2019

I had no problem soloing the entire story from Level 1 to Kralkatorrik, so I'm not really sure what the problem might be. Don't be a glass cannon, probably.

Teratus.2859 · January 23, 2019

Sounds to me like a build problem..

I don't know what class you're running or build but from the sounds of how easy you find it to die i'm assuming that it's something really glassy.

I never had a problem with the PoF story myself.. I first ran through it with a full Zerker Ranger maining a longbow and found it pretty easy. (core Ranger no elite specs)

Second time with a Soldier Necromancer (Reaper) maining Dagger Focus and minions and didn't even bother using Sohothin.. still pretty easy fight.

(Should note that only one of my characters has ascended armor.. and that's my Necro MM which I also use for Fractals, the rest of them I don't bother with Ascended armor as I consider it a total waste of money and resources on a PvE character, Ascended Weapons however are great)

I don't advise people use glass stats on pure melee character in this game.. sure the damage output is great but you cant deal much damage when you're downed most of the time.

Save the glass stats for more range focused characters and give your melee guys some kind of survival capability.. be that evades, blocks, sustain and/or tankier stats.

Cragga the Eighty Third.60 · January 23, 2019

> @"Tiviana.2650" said:

> I cant finish because the warbeast fight is kitten hard to survive. I dont know how many times i have died now and had to restart the thing all over because my armor was broken.

I soloed it, but I did have ascended gear.

Just saying, when I fought Lazarus in LW3, every piece of my armor broke, and when I finally finished it, I walked out in my undies. The only reason I mention it is that I totally forgot at the time that I had a bunch of [armor repair canisters ](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Instant_Repair_Canister "armor repair canisters ")in my backpack. You sometimes get them from the Black Lion Goods chest in daily rewards, but if you really need them and don't have any yet, they are also available in the gem store. Unless you already used it, you should have at least one from a story reward.

Moira Shalaar.5620 · January 23, 2019

@Yannir.4132 & @Leon de Damasco.8105 both make really good points. Since so many have responded with fight mechanic info, I thought perhaps I might help with some Soulbeast specific comments. I have played this episode successfully on power SB & condition SB. Here is a link to my preferred power SB build along with a couple comments on how to play it.

BUILDS

* Marauders

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vNUQRBHPdG2JlKQFLYrggHvAXLYpQwyvud3y7TXIaFAYGAtrUXJSfH-jBCBQBm7JAkH9PA4AFEgTqgCV/5kKBxy+DaU5HpAiYrF-e

* If you haven't leveled your crafting high enough to craft your own armor, here is an alternate build with core stats that you can buy mostly with Laurels and Karma.

* Berserker/Valkyrie

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNUQNAnXTnUqAVsgtCCe8Cctgl9ALf9OfzvPxhyVFY52FAOblI93A-jxBBABNqEMgTpQlq/o0+DGqvJLlfA8kCIFggCtA-e

* Ignore the fact that this is built out with ascended, as mentioned before that only provides a minor bump in dps, the bigger issue is knowing how to play a build and the encounter's mechanics. This is NOT a meta build, it is intended for solo play and I made some very specific adjustments for that purpose, but I can pull some really high dps while also having great durability. Since this is a pure axe build you can play ranged the entire time.

* for either of these builds rune of the wurm would also work as an alternative.

TIPS

* Use moa stance before strength of the pack (elite) or warhorn 5 because moa gives a boost to boon duration.

* Use "Sick'em" followed by "worldly impact" [F3] then axe 5. sick'em gives a very nice brief damage boost. worldly impact will extend your boons by a couple seconds and do good damage, and axe 5 is good damage.

* I camp primarily merged because merging gives bonus to ferocity, as does axes and the signet.

* With the sigil of cruelty (marauder build) you can have almost 100% crit chance in combat with just short of 300% crit damage with max stacks. However if you are dying a lot that sigil isn't going to help you at all in this instance.

* The damage is mostly dependent on keeping the fury boon up, which you will get from weapon swap, moa stance, warhorn 5, & Strength of the pack. if you keep using the skills, even with a less than ideal rotation you ought to be able to keep permanent fury, with nearly 25 stacks of might, intermittent protection and almost permanent regeneration.

* Merged with Gazelle gives you 2 good break bar skills. You can drop from merge and use gazelle skill, and also axe 4, & axe 3 for additional break bar damage.

feel free to pm me if you need help with gear acquisition. It's really not that hard but as a new player you may not be aware of the easiest ways to gear up fast. Good luck!