Scared of the Shroud

[Original]

Not sure what server your on, but failing a shroud run is rare. I can only think of one, but that was because the orthon bugged out. You Need to find better groups, but any pug should have no problem.

[Sequell]

I have participated in 5 Shroud runs and have completed 1. I am now hesitant to join a Shroud group because even though it is fun it is also frustrating when we can't complete.

My character is a 12/3/1 Fighter/Barbarian/Ranger.

Any advice as to my role in a Shroud run and any suggestions on improving chances of completion?

It seems we have failed at the part where the lieutenants must be defeated simultaneously.

Thanks.

If you are failing on normal it is not a party makeup issue as much as it is a radi leader issue IMO. If the leader of the party isn't giving proper instructions then part 2 will probably go badly in most pugs.

[MJNOR1]

I have participated in 5 Shroud runs and have completed 1. I am now hesitant to join a Shroud group because even though it is fun it is also frustrating when we can't complete.

My character is a 12/3/1 Fighter/Barbarian/Ranger.

Any advice as to my role in a Shroud run and any suggestions on improving chances of completion?

It seems we have failed at the part where the lieutenants must be defeated simultaneously.

Thanks.

[...v...]

I have participated in 5 Shroud runs and have completed 1. I am now hesitant to join a Shroud group because even though it is fun it is also frustrating when we can't complete.

My character is a 12/3/1 Fighter/Barbarian/Ranger.

Any advice as to my role in a Shroud run and any suggestions on improving chances of completion?

It seems we have failed at the part where the lieutenants must be defeated simultaneously.

Thanks.

For a successful run look at the group makeup, two or more casters is a waste of dps, we run them without casters and just a bard. If you do let a caster into the run make sure they got debuffs and buffs. Also look at toons in the group, like the human ftr/barb/wiz is a sign. Make sure you got greater construct banes and transmuters if you don’t have green steel weapons. The rest blame management.

[Sequell]

What server you on? I will get you in one of my runs if you are on my server. :)

[GlassCannon]

...or the other problem: The shroud is now configured to FORCE a player to have a Tier 3 Mineral 2 Greensteel weapon to do any decent damage, uber-rare chest loot aside. No, the Auction House is not a viable solution, as the prices are usually 10-100x higher than they should be.

Grab at least 5 veterans with Greensteel Weapons and you'll have a fighting chance. Otherwise, simply resign yourself to Newbiehood and accept that the content is blatantly hateful to the untwinked.

Oh, and Moderator, I love what you did to this thread's Post Sequence ;)

[noinfo]

If you are failing on normal it is not a party makeup issue as much as it is a radi leader issue IMO. If the leader of the party isn't giving proper instructions then part 2 will probably go badly in most pugs.

Or the party isn't following instructions, this seems to be the most common problem.

[Sequell]

Or the party isn't following instructions, this seems to be the most common problem.

Agreed...most people that are new to the raid want to wander around...not exactly conducive to a successful part 2 lol! :D

[Jarka]

Ouch!

What server are you on?

Your primary role, looking at ur class is DPS. You need to try to have the right weapons.

Part 1: Anarchic,holy(burst)xxx of greater construct bane/pure good for the portals. Vorpals/Con damage/holy(burstxxxof PG for trash

Part 2: Greater Elemental Bane for ellies, transmuting/holyburstxxxof pure good/greater evil outsider bane for devil/orthon....will aso work on kobald, gnoll and troll

Part 3: puzzle solver, jump pot for puzzle if u have a poor jump, csw pots and wands when running water

Part 4: transmuting/holyburstxxxof pure good/greater evil outsider bane for Harry

Part 5: same weaps as part 2 for the leutenants, and then same as part 4 for Harry.

Also, at beginning of part 5, ur highest ac/evasion party member should kite the leutenants the away from rest of party til they are buffed and organized to peel 1 leutenant at a time for the kill.

Hope this helps a bit. There's a lot more to the various strategies/tacticts, this is just a start for you.

[noinfo]

Ouch!

What server are you on?

Your primary role, looking at ur class is DPS. You need to try to have the right weapons.

Part 1: Anarchic,holy(burst)xxx of greater construct bane/pure good for the portals. Vorpals/Con damage/holy(burstxxxof PG for trash

Part 2: Greater Elemental Bane for ellies, transmuting/holyburstxxxof pure good/greater evil outsider bane for devil/orthon....will aso work on kobald, gnoll and troll

Part 3: puzzle solver, jump pot for puzzle if u have a poor jump, csw pots and wands when running water

Part 4: transmuting/holyburstxxxof pure good/greater evil outsider bane for Harry

Part 5: same weaps as part 2 for the leutenants, and then same as part 4 for Harry.

Also, at beginning of part 5, ur highest ac/evasion party member should kite the leutenants the away from rest of party til they are buffed and organized to peel 1 leutenant at a time for the kill.

Hope this helps a bit. There's a lot more to the various strategies/tacticts, this is just a start for you.

Along with a poison immune item or pot. Disease immune item and Remove curse pots.

[Jarka]

Along with a poison immune item or pot. Disease immune item and Remove curse pots.


Nice catch Noinfo :)

[baylensman]

Voice chat is mandatory. Clear instructions, follow the leader, stay together. Our groups consist of a core of about 6-8 players and we usually pug out the remaining spots. The only stipulation is that invities follow the instructions. As stated buffs and debuffs, as well as mass heals. DON"T BE STINGY WITH MANA. If you have pots or cakes of mnenoic pass them around. Don't be a hero, in part two. have someone get the agro and draw the baddies back to appropriate points and coordiante the attacks. Take a few minutes at the begining and discuss weapon selections for each part, If you aren't sure ASK!
Keep at it I also failed the first few times, till I understood what was expected, and asked a lot of questions, now I know what to do ahead of time and am ready to say high high when the leader says jump.

[Draccus]

I have participated in a total of 15 Shrouds. 11 were PUGS and all succeeded. 4 were primarily guild raids and all failed.

We joked about this in guild chat last night and determined the reason: with guild groups, we are more concerned with making sure everyone has a slot than about party makeup or effectiveness. In other words, we take any guild member who's online, regardless of their class, experience with the quest, or gear.

Combine that with a "we're here for fun" attitude, where raid leaders are less likely to bark orders to guildmates and we fail. A few simple changes would dramatically increase our chances for success, even on a "fun" guild raid.

1. People who have never run the Shroud should take the time to learn a BIT about the quest (by reading or asking) before asking to join. A bit of advice for each part would go a long way.

2. People need to bring the right gear and know when to use it. A barbarian who can solo Orthons in the Vale all day will be as worthless a caster swinging his scepters against Harry in Part 4 if he uses the same weapons. Stepping into the Vale with your standard level 12 trash mob weapons isn't doing your party any good.

3. Unless you've got a ridiculously high DPS party, you need a strategy for Part 2. It doesn't have to be complicated but I see too many raid leaders who assume everyone knows what to do. Are we using the cubby? Are we just taking them SW? Are we peeling off any mobs? Who's taking the elemental and where? What order? This info is important for any group but it's SUPER important for a group with some new folks who may not be properly equipped.

Failed raids are probably equally due to the players and the leaders. Good players can make up for weak leaders and strong leaders can make up for weak players. But weak players and weak leaders are rarely going to succeed.

[sephiroth1084]

Sometimes a group just doesn't have the DPS or skills necessary to complete.

In the Shroud runs I have failed, the problems have often been:
-lack of DPS (took too long getting Lieutenants down, or beating Harry down)
-poor healers (just didn't know what spells to throw where and when)
-poor mana usage (if all the blue bars are gone by the time round 2 with Harry finishes, there is going to be a problem)
-poor instructions/leadership
-inability for some people to follow directions
-mistakes/random luck (almost had a Shroud go bad on part 2 that I was running because the caster that was handling the fire elemental hit him with a Polar Ray trying to keep him at an even level, and crit, doing nearly 2,000 damage, and killed him before we were ready)

Anyway, like any quest, The Shroud (and raids in general) take some getting used to, party adjustment, and teamwork. Don't get too discouraged by your failures--everyone failed A Vision of Destruction a half a dozen times before finally completing it (and it is still far from an auto-complete for most groups). I was 2 for 6 when I first started running the Shroud, and now only fail a run about one time in 5 or 6 runs (unless I'm doing a guild run...and then, well...HORDO).

[xynxie]

its when ya get the egos in there that it is impossible.....and I mean impossible

example...zergers that have done it alot but seem to forget they are in pug and pull devil before even thier own cleric has mana because they have the uber weps to get him prepped in 20 seconds..but cant heal themselves expecting the cleric that hasnt done this before to know about the curses and such..then dies...thing is, now he has nothin better to do then whine why everyone else haven't lived on thier server getting same uberness and how bad this pug is going to be....been in that shroud? demoralizing for folks that actually play to have fun.....had this happen the other day....I live on my server and never seen that in shroud before.....and I have done alot of em...till lately.....like folks are looking down on folks without GS.

example....uber sorc has no debuffs says he is going to haste and finger in part 4 saving his mana for that...doesn't throw buffs around, doesn't have web, doesn't have a clue why he died running around doing nothing....been in that shroud? oh gawd I wish I could say no. No haste for you now? and I bet the guy still thinks debuffing is a waste....tried to give him some help in a side chat....basically told me didnt know what I was doing....he is on my friends list.

Part 1
jump in dual weild vorpals on any toon whether twf or not (takes a 20 no matter what) 12 folks swing 24 vorpals(my casters have 2 vorpals yes)....thats a recipie for killing the original trash mobs quick

anarchic, holy, GCB, transmuting....all good on portals and as long as everyone is on the portal cept the babysitter they will go down plenty fast enough....cleric throw a prayer and bard a haste and song its magic

Part 2
don't run through the middle no matter what....meet in south cental....same as beginning of part one...clean mobs and assign.....chaotic bane weapons work fine on devil and orthon. though I like my g/s light II can assign one or two to it though if noone feels uber......fire and ele are no brainers...send 2 evasion types on fire and barbs on stone ele if they dont have uber weps that will get him down fast enough...thats 6 folks if ya assign 3 to NW cleric and two tanks, and 3 in NE bard and 2 tanks....that leaves 6 on wall...cleric back....caster back...that leaves 4 on wall.....how hard can that be....but folks find a way to make it hard.....those 2 tanks in corners dont need super uber weapons to bring down thier guy....just swing on em get em prepped then take em all down at once....if ya get yours done early....shield block....then when everyones rdy take em down.....

if it falls apart....don't let your ego take over......kill everything....let them go back to the middle and repeat....tip your cleric later if he used scrolls....and definitly tip the bard he HAS to use scrolls


Part 3
Puzzles.....if you got a problem using puzzle solvers..let the leader know before ya join..I won't take folks that won't use em.....if ya can solve em great.....but i will destroy your cyrstal before i wipe in part 3.....made that mistake once, will never do it again for 2 chest....even though those are the 2 chest i pulled my w/p rapiers out of

Part 4
POISON NEUTRALIZATION...give it to everyone cause someone always forgets to say they need it
Beginning same as part 1 and 2 cept clerics and caster dont vorp....vorpal those buggers and get er done.....if you don't have silver....shame on you....holy burst transmuting and i am sure others will add to that list...i use gs light II teir 3....clerics should have quicken for this part so they don't get broke on con checks....thos devils go right for ya it seems...casters should be able to debuff....waves of fatigue, ray of exhaustion, ray of enfeeblement a few times and a solid fog is nice, web for the mobs dancing ball if ya have to but its annoying so most bards have it.....when the blades get close tumble out AWAY to the flank side of clerics so hairy doesn't kill them with a fireball meant for you.....if you have ranged evasion types clerics should stand behind them but away from them a bit as the fireballs are area of effect...if your in swinging on hairy and dont have the aggro flank him or be behind him this helps. 3 rounds is not a sin.

Part 5
Same as 4....Poison neutralization a must before hairy.....let someone kite and then ya kill the minions one at a time....get all your buffs while the casters get manna back then kill the last one then kill hairy..........if you die and are rezzed DO NOT JUST JUMP BACK IN...get buffed wait for penalty to run out....range if ya can....if clerics run low everyone jumps out and ranges......again this is where i have seen egos make this a darn sight harder than need be....don't care if he is done to 5-10% if clerics can't heal you ya will die.....range em and let casters get some mana


only failed once leading a group and that was afore mentioned on puzzles.....and that was an ego thing on a players part that he wouldnt even let someone else do the puzzle.....when the wall came he was the first to drop group nothing said......I think this is just basics....not saying folks have to run shroud this way....just saying when your puggin expect no uber and be pleasantly surprised when ya get it....but i believe this quest can be done by anyone with the minimum of right tools

[Aranticus]

Voice chat is mandatory. Clear instructions, follow the leader, stay together. Our groups consist of a core of about 6-8 players and we usually pug out the remaining spots. The only stipulation is that invities follow the instructions. As stated buffs and debuffs, as well as mass heals. DON"T BE STINGY WITH MANA. If you have pots or cakes of mnenoic pass them around. Don't be a hero, in part two. have someone get the agro and draw the baddies back to appropriate points and coordiante the attacks. Take a few minutes at the begining and discuss weapon selections for each part, If you aren't sure ASK!
Keep at it I also failed the first few times, till I understood what was expected, and asked a lot of questions, now I know what to do ahead of time and am ready to say high high when the leader says jump.

i have run many shrouds without voice chat. its is NOT mandatory

[Aspenor]

i have run many shrouds without voice chat. its is NOT mandatory

generally speaking, only the leader should need voice chat.

anybody cluttering the speakers with useless non-quest-related jabbering should be squelched

[Aspenor]

nah, dun even need voice chat at all. have ran a few silent shroud. there is nothing much abt being a leader in shroud, almost all instructions are the same, ie

part 1: bring all mobs to centre, kill all. casters roam, rest hit portals

part 2: bring X, Y, Z to NE. bring A to SE. caster to centre when X drops

part 3: rogue OL, rest do puzzle and run water

part 4: cleric 1 mass heal melee 1, cleric 2 mass heal 2. casters get gnolls, melees on fiend

part 5: need these buffs, ranger 1 kite X away, rest on Y, kill order, Y, Z, A keep X

:p

Yeah, that'd be true if the OP had run it more than 5 times. We're talking to a comparative Shroud newbie, you can't expect somebody like this to be able to function with the above instructions, you might as well just say RUN AMOK!!!!

I know YOU can run it like that, but we're helping a newbie, not talking to somebody that's done the Shroud 10 times.

[Aranticus]

generally speaking, only the leader should need voice chat.

anybody cluttering the speakers with useless non-quest-related jabbering should be squelched

nah, dun even need voice chat at all. have ran a few silent shroud. there is nothing much abt being a leader in shroud, almost all instructions are the same, ie

part 1: bring all mobs to centre, kill all. casters roam, rest hit portals

part 2: bring X, Y, Z to NE. bring A to SE. caster to centre when X drops

part 3: rogue OL, rest do puzzle and run water

part 4: cleric 1 mass heal melee 1, cleric 2 mass heal 2. casters get gnolls, melees on fiend

part 5: need these buffs, ranger 1 kite X away, rest on Y, kill order, Y, Z, A keep X

:p

[doppleganger]

I have participated in 5 Shroud runs and have completed 1. I am now hesitant to join a Shroud group because even though it is fun it is also frustrating when we can't complete.

My character is a 12/3/1 Fighter/Barbarian/Ranger.

Any advice as to my role in a Shroud run and any suggestions on improving chances of completion?

It seems we have failed at the part where the lieutenants must be defeated simultaneously.

Thanks.

Lots of good advice in the replies.

In addition to the equipment mentionned, bring along Fire Protect pots for parts 4 and 5, to be able to renew your fire prot yourself if necessary.

In part 2, yea, a lot of factors can contribute to a wipe:

-sub par healer
-sub par DPS
-sub par leadership
-sub par obediance to orders from some players

mix that up with the devil that has seen everyone and teleports all over the place and you have a perfect recipe for a disaster.

When this happens, if you think the group was really bad, dont join up again with them, try again later with a fresh batch of people. You will eventually stumble upon a group that has good healing, DPS and leadership, it will be a breeze, and you will stop fearing the Shroud.

[Aranticus]

Yeah, that'd be true if the OP had run it more than 5 times. We're talking to a comparative Shroud newbie, you can't expect somebody like this to be able to function with the above instructions, you might as well just say RUN AMOK!!!!

I know YOU can run it like that, but we're helping a newbie, not talking to somebody that's done the Shroud 10 times.

the problem with shroud these days, and i'm failing it alot more, is not due to a weak leader but rather like what xynxie said, people who are not willing to adapt. on part 2 i usually ask if people are comfortable taking certain roles (i never let new players pull agro unless totally no choice) and then assign roles. there are many times where i asked for a boss to be placed in a certain location, only to have that player pull it into another (where no healers are there) thus messing up the sequence. the problem is, these players will then question your tactics and then say they always do it this way

seems that the players who do these are those with abt 50 runs under thier belt. yeah sure you done it alot but when not having the star, jolly well listen and follow. one even used his 50 runs to tell me off to which i /quest completions and showed him my 60 on 1 toon. different raid leaders have different way of doing shroud, no one way is the only way but as long as people are willing to listen, it is the correct way

in recent times, i'm actually more impressed with newbies then some of the "experienced" players out there. they tend to listen more and follow instructions better. in fact, my last hound i took 2 newbies with me and they performed admirably

[GunboatDiplomat]

The shroud is now configured to FORCE a player to have a Tier 3 Mineral 2 Greensteel weapon to do any decent damage, uber-rare chest loot aside. No, the Auction House is not a viable solution, as the prices are usually 10-100x higher than they should be.

Transmuting weapons are more than sufficient as long as you have bard buffs. You can pick up a +4 transmuting weapon on the ah pretty cheap or even a lawful outsider/evil outsider weapon bane weapon which is nearly as good on normal.

[Aspenor]

...or the other problem: The shroud is now configured to FORCE a player to have a Tier 3 Mineral 2 Greensteel weapon to do any decent damage, uber-rare chest loot aside. No, the Auction House is not a viable solution, as the prices are usually 10-100x higher than they should be.

Grab at least 5 veterans with Greensteel Weapons and you'll have a fighting chance. Otherwise, simply resign yourself to Newbiehood and accept that the content is blatantly hateful to the untwinked.

Oh, and Moderator, I love what you did to this thread's Post Sequence ;)

completely false. wiped again in the shroud did you GC?

[Blazer]

Some good advice but also some horrid misinformation in this thread. OP, please let us know on which server you play so we can start getting you shroud completions.

[gfunk]

...or the other problem: The shroud is now configured to FORCE a player to have a Tier 3 Mineral 2 Greensteel weapon to do any decent damage, uber-rare chest loot aside. No, the Auction House is not a viable solution, as the prices are usually 10-100x higher than they should be.

As others have said, a good transmuter will suffice in part II. In fact, a transmuter is a better choice then most tier 2 weapons, and some tier 3 weapons so just because someone has shroud weapons doesn't mean they are going to do a load of dps. I conceed that the Min II is the king of weapons for Part IV/V and that if you have a party with alot of such weapons in it you will likely have a smooth run (also because the people who have these weapons generally have had a fair bit of practice via the required runs to get the ingredients).

And the AH can often be fine for finding good weapons at decent prices.. you just have to be patient (in fact, it can be the source of some real bargains). I picked up a +3 anarchic SS of greater construct bane a couple weeks ago for 30k plat (top notch portal beater). About a month ago I picked up a vorpal sickle for 20k (thats a pretty rare price, but other vorpals like longswords and scimitars can be found at bargain basement prices). Transmuters can be found for vendor prices on the AH [at least on Sarlona they can].

And check the vendor too (and keep and open mind about the weapon). Example: Last week I bought a transmuting club of greater evil outsider bane from the vendor (presumeably someone had vendored it because it was a club, which few people use.. I bought it just out of principle as it seemed a good bargain even though I have no real use for it). It's not a top tier weapon, but it puts out reliable damage.

Also, bear in mind that people want transmuters, silver of pure good, or silver holy weapons to bypass harry's DR which is 15/good and 15/silver on NORMAL.

If you have a weapon that isn't transmuting but can make up for the loss of the 15 points (on average) as compared to the transmuter then you are OK going with non-transmuting. An example people often use is the Lightining II weapon which approximately makes up for the deficit with the occassional lightning strike. On Hard and elite settings though these weapons greatly lose their effectivenes, so if you are doing hard or elite stick with something that bypasses DR. (even if its a less flashy weapon.. a +1 transmuting dagger is probably better then a lightning II khopesh on elite settings).

Also, learn to find good leaders and try to get on their short list for raid invites. (even if you aren't uber-powergamer-equiped, many good raid leaders will welcome you to their party if you have a track record of listening to instructions)

[baylensman]

i have run many shrouds without voice chat. its is NOT mandatory
How many with a significant number of relative newbs, or folks who haven't been in a successful run?

[Kawiki]

...or the other problem: The shroud is now configured to FORCE a player to have a Tier 3 Mineral 2 Greensteel weapon to do any decent damage, uber-rare chest loot aside.


This is totally incorrect. All you need is a couple of transmutting weapons if you are a dual wielder. While not as good as a Min II Weapon it is all you really need.

You can do the shroud with practically any party makeup. However, the best group consists of 2 Clerics, 1 bard, 1 Caster rest Rangers, fighters or barbs oh and toss in a rogue to sacrifice to the devil.

[Kawiki]

Some good advice but also some horrid misinformation in this thread. OP, please let us know on which server you play so we can start getting you shroud completions.

I actually agree with Blazer for a change. This thread is a mish mosh of good and bad advice, even in the same response at times.

[GlassCannon]

This is totally against my opinion. All you need is a couple of transmutting weapons if you are a dual wielder. While not as good as a Min II Weapon it is all you really need.

You can do the shroud with practically any party makeup. However, the best group consists of 2 Clerics, 1 bard, 1 Caster rest Rangers, fighters or barbs oh and toss in a rogue to sacrifice to the devil.


Halfling... it has to be a Halfling sacrifice.

If you can find some decent weapons(+5 Silver of Pure Good is fine, but ultra-rare. Try for a +4 or better Transmuting 2handed weapon, or 2 +4 or better Transmuting 1-handed and dualwield them on the big guy. Just hope you have the right stuff for Part 2.)

A lot of folks here automatically assume you have played D&D for at least 5 years and know every which way to build a character, and have the gear capacity of a 3-year veteran(pretty much forcing you to buy stuff off MMObay and fund plat farmers just to keep up with expectations).



I see some veterans are proposing you take advantage of their gear. I advise doing so.

[Vallin]

I actually agree with Blazer for a change. This thread is a mish mosh of good and bad advice, even in the same response at times.

Yes, there is a lot of good and bad in this thread.

Kind of funny - I ran a Shroud PUG last night and the group's DPS was fine/portals went down well. Part 2 was a little bizarre as someone killed the troll twice rather than waiting to kill all simultaneously and someone else took orc to the opposite end of the map which split the melees. Basically, people just weren't following instructions - which is why I think following instructions is really the key for this quest. You just can't have people going off and doing their own thing.

In part 4 someone clicked on the altar before most of the group looted or shrined. In part 5 one of the casters wouldn't go to the pool and get spell points back... at which point I discussed how some people want Shroud Speed runs, but that this particular experience qualified as a Shroud Short Bus Run.

I am not sure if people were griefing, goofing around, drunk, or who knows what. The group was good enough to finish anyway - but it sure took longer than it had to.

The point here is that I think some people are getting a little bored - and perhaps not participating in some PUGs with the 'typical' attention to detail and seriousness to get it done. Not that we all need to be serious all the time, but it can cause problems when you are attempting a raid like the Shroud where coordinated effort kind of matters.

Vallin

[MJNOR1]

What server you on? I will get you in one of my runs if you are on my server. :)

Thanks Sequell but I'm on Argo :(

[boldarblood]

For a successful run look at the group makeup, two or more casters is a waste of dps, we run them without casters and just a bard. If you do let a caster into the run make sure they got debuffs and buffs. Also look at toons in the group, like the human ftr/barb/wiz is a sign. Make sure you got greater construct banes and transmuters if you don’t have green steel weapons. The rest blame management.

2 casters are nice to have on shroud. Can make the run a lot more smooth, unless you have bad casters.

[gfunk]

I actually agree with Blazer for a change. This thread is a mish mosh of good and bad advice, even in the same response at times.

might not hurt to point some of these out then, rather then just denouncing the qualitiy of the thread.

Also its important to note that the different servers all tend to have slight differences in the way they run the shroud, so some of the things people disagree on may be due to their own unique experiences from how they are used to running it.

Example is where Aranticus mentioned seperating the lieutenants with 3 in the NW and 1 in the NE... somthing which is almost never done on Sarlona. Typically most groups on Sarlona server put 2 in the SE, and 1 each in the NW and NE.

I'm sure both methods work fine if people are used to them.

[MJNOR1]

I want to clarify that we have not wiped but the leader or others have "given up" and abandoned the group out of frustration. It sounds though that maybe I have just been unlucky with the groups I got into.

[...v...]

2 casters are nice to have on shroud. Can make the run a lot more smooth, unless you have bad casters.

no casters is better.

[boldarblood]

...or the other problem: The shroud is now configured to FORCE a player to have a Tier 3 Mineral 2 Greensteel weapon to do any decent damage, uber-rare chest loot aside. No, the Auction House is not a viable solution, as the prices are usually 10-100x higher than they should be.

Grab at least 5 veterans with Greensteel Weapons and you'll have a fighting chance. Otherwise, simply resign yourself to Newbiehood and accept that the content is blatantly hateful to the untwinked.

Oh, and Moderator, I love what you did to this thread's Post Sequence ;)

There is absolutely nothing in this post I agree with.

Getting equipment ready for the shroud is not expensive. You can get yourself a cheap +5 transmuter for 5-10kpp in AH/Vendor. For the portals you can get away with a Holy Weapon (can then use this weapon to beat on the lietunants with, even it it is not an uber one just a +4/5 holy weapon get the job done. And finally a vorpal. As you run the shroud more often you can slowly upgrade your equipment.

That combined 3 items are NOT expensive. Could probably get all 3 for under 25kpp. If a player can not afford 25-30kpp then they should not be in the shroud just yet.

[moops]

Watch the raid LFMs on your server, you should see a pattern of some of the same people leading alot of raids. Jump into one of these. If not then I guess watch party make up--though I've been known to bring 3 or 4 casters who were friends over pugs--and yes, we still succeeded.

I actually think the hardest part of this Raid has been fighting the bizarre lag in part 4--I had a party last week where some crazy teleporting lag thing happened and it killed all 7 evasion people in the party--and others have experienced the same kind of scene--So since then I actually try to have more than 1 caster, my thinking is that maybe there will be less DPS lag, and just maybe, this will help the the bizarro lag spikes that happen in there every now and then. I still do 40 - 45 min runs with 2 or 3 casters--which isn't the fastest, but still a decent time for 10 chests.

[GlassCannon]

That combined 3 items are NOT expensive. Could probably get all 3 for under 250kpp. If a player can not afford 250-600kpp then they should not be in the shroud just yet.

Fixed for AH inflation.

Are you done yet?


Just make a Greensteel already. Farm the Vale for ingredients and use a Crafting Spreadsheet or Planner. If you happen upon some transmuters and can actually furnish some decent DPS, go for it. These guys assume you have at least 30 STR and a Bloodstone, and your Transmuter(s) is(are) +5 of Pure Good or better. Just look around, talks of ultra-rare weapons as if they were common, build ideas focused around eating 5 +3 tomes... in-game it should be a different and more sensible story. Reiterating once again, if there are veterans, run with them.

[GlassCannon]

Ouch!

What server are you on?

Your primary role, looking at ur class is DPS. You need to try to have the right weapons.

Part 1: Anarchic,holy(burst)xxx of greater construct bane/pure good for the portals. Vorpals/Con damage/holy(burstxxxof PG for trash

Part 2: Greater Elemental Bane for ellies, transmuting/holyburstxxxof pure good/greater evil outsider bane for devil/orthon....will aso work on kobald, gnoll and troll

Part 3: puzzle solver, jump pot for puzzle if u have a poor jump, csw pots and wands when running water

Part 4: transmuting/holyburstxxxof pure good/greater evil outsider bane for Harry

Part 5: same weaps as part 2 for the leutenants, and then same as part 4 for Harry.

Also, at beginning of part 5, ur highest ac/evasion party member should kite the leutenants the away from rest of party til they are buffed and organized to peel 1 leutenant at a time for the kill.

Hope this helps a bit. There's a lot more to the various strategies/tacticts, this is just a start for you.

Of course, we all assume he already read this post, and the rest is merely hodge-podgery and conjecture.

I tire of this forum wordgame. Off to bed to rest up for another day of testing the forumites' mettle.

[boldarblood]

Fixed for AH inflation.

Are you done yet?




No we are not done, your pricing here is so off it is not even funny. Stop being so bitter. You can get all 3 items I listed for ~30-35kpp.

[SableShadow]

Fixed for AH inflation.


Picked up a +5 trans dagger of righteousness today for a 4kpp buyout.
Picked up a +4 trans dagger of maiming yesterday for a 5kpp buyout.

For every person that dumps stuff on the AH for outrageous prices (they don't sell, btw), there's at least two more posting reasonable ones...just get a feel for what you're looking for, be prepared to accept "good enough" weapons that do the job instead of perfect ones. I used daggers almost exclusively until around Giant Hold, reason being they got the job done and were cheap.



Are you done yet?

Translation: "I'm going to keep on posting until you get tired and give up!" ???



These guys assume <snip>

Stop assuming. Stop painting everyone you dislike with the same broad brush.

[Do'Urden]

Picked up a +5 trans dagger of righteousness today for a 4kpp buyout.
Picked up a +4 trans dagger of maiming yesterday for a 5kpp buyout.

For every person that dumps stuff on the AH for outrageous prices (they don't sell, btw), there's at least two more posting reasonable ones...just get a feel for what you're looking for, be prepared to accept "good enough" weapons that do the job instead of perfect ones. I used daggers almost exclusively until around Giant Hold, reason being they got the job done and were cheap.

Right on Brenna. I put the odd +3 or worse transmuters in the House D vendor almost every day and sell the +4 or better types on the AH for very reasonable buyouts (typically 15k pp or less except in the case of interesting greater banes). When they don't sell the first or second 72hr. posting...off to the House D vendor they go.

The point is...there is very little reason for someone to go into the Shroud ill-equipped except for lack of knowledge or lack of caring about your contribution to the success of the group.

[boldarblood]

no casters is better.

Sounds like a gimp party :P

[transtemporal]

It seems we have failed at the part where the lieutenants must be defeated simultaneously.

I actually think this is the hardest part of shroud because it requires co-operation and communication. On argo, these are both things we have trouble with...

"Ha! I can take this guy down twice in the time it takes you ******* to take them down once!" :rolleyes:

[Aranticus]

How many with a significant number of relative newbs, or folks who haven't been in a successful run?

the last time i did this, i had 3/4 newbies in the group. it took a little more time as i had to type out instructions just before going into each part. as for certain roles, i just tell them to follow another experienced player. i've led a vod with text as well (also including some newbies). it is not impossible but it does require alot more effort

the reason i have these runs is becoz i'm in the aussie time zone. we play at night where americans are out for work. cant use voice as folks are sleeping. for sure i'm glad that when such occasions arise, people have been very understanding and go all out to play as a group

[Aranticus]

I actually think this is the hardest part of shroud because it requires co-operation and communication. On argo, these are both things we have trouble with...

"Ha! I can take this guy down twice in the time it takes you ******* to take them down once!" :rolleyes:

in khyber its

"heck! f SE!, i'm taking him to SW like i always do" :(

[suitepotato]

I'll stick to the simultaneous lieutenant take-down thing.

1. No one goes near them.
2. Party recovers from initial beatdown and ONE scout goes around to look. A scout worthy build with good move silently and hide. Someone who can sneak and not run around swinging weapons or firing arrows.
3. Scout report and party vets of this quest think which area to use and everyone goes where they say.
4. Everyone gets ready.
5. Once everyone is ready, scout plays lure and gets the baddies where they need to be. Extra lures are dispatched as necessary depending on method. All at once, two in one place and two elsewhere, whatever.
6. Win.

As an option, add

7. Pray real hard the kobold doesn't hop backwards through a wall outside the playable instance.

I'm not afraid of the shroud, I'm afraid of ninja posts.

[Desteria]

might not hurt to point some of these out then, rather then just denouncing the qualitiy of the thread.

Also its important to note that the different servers all tend to have slight differences in the way they run the shroud, so some of the things people disagree on may be due to their own unique experiences from how they are used to running it.

Example is where Aranticus mentioned seperating the lieutenants with 3 in the NW and 1 in the NE... somthing which is almost never done on Sarlona. Typically most groups on Sarlona server put 2 in the SE, and 1 each in the NW and NE.

I'm sure both methods work fine if people are used to them.

a lot of groups on khyber put 3 in NE and one in the SE (elmetal SE), Well tecnicaly it;s 2 NE, one Ncenter just south enough so that the NE rooms NW corner is farenough to let the ones that don;t die with other around die.

Part 2 in a pug/not crazzy uber group prep all mobs down to 5% kill order is always the Telaporter FIRST (orthon becasue he slow, devil becuse you dotn want him buggering off on ya.), other stuff order does not matter then FIRE & CAT lasst if you have either/both of them, before fire and cat are kileld a caster, or cleric speced for it shopuld be in the center rdy to kill teh crystal.

[Desteria]

Fixed for AH inflation.

Are you done yet?


Just make a Greensteel already. Farm the Vale for ingredients and use a Crafting Spreadsheet or Planner. If you happen upon some transmuters and can actually furnish some decent DPS, go for it. These guys assume you have at least 30 STR and a Bloodstone, and your Transmuter(s) is(are) +5 of Pure Good or better. Just look around, talks of ultra-rare weapons as if they were common, build ideas focused around eating 5 +3 tomes... in-game it should be a different and more sensible story. Reiterating once again, if there are veterans, run with them.

meh i routeenly post +3 or better transmuters on the AH for there base item price rounded off...

maby your server sucks for the AH btu on khyber all the items he listed are avalible quite cheap, frankly i'd bet most of them ar eon house D vendors a lot as well.

I've Lead a TON of shrouds, now i'm moslty just do speed runs cause they are more fun, btu bakc when i was fillign out guidl runs with pug all i ever asked for was a +1 transmuter or it's equivelent if you have that i'm happy enough for harry dps. Heck i loot at LEAST one +1 trnasmuter every day i play DDO they are not that hard to get.

[Mhykke]

Fixed for AH inflation.

Are you done yet?


Just make a Greensteel already. Farm the Vale for ingredients and use a Crafting Spreadsheet or Planner. If you happen upon some transmuters and can actually furnish some decent DPS, go for it. These guys assume you have at least 30 STR and a Bloodstone, and your Transmuter(s) is(are) +5 of Pure Good or better. Just look around, talks of ultra-rare weapons as if they were common, build ideas focused around eating 5 +3 tomes... in-game it should be a different and more sensible story. Reiterating once again, if there are veterans, run with them.

I routinely see +3 or better transmuters on the house D vendor.

[...v...]

Sounds like a gimp party :P

Just ran it yesterday night, went very smooth and very fast had the pit fiend down 1.1 rounds we didnt even have to kill the gnolls in 2nd round.

[boldarblood]

Just ran it yesterday night, went very smooth and very fast had the pit fiend down 1.1 rounds we didnt even have to kill the gnolls in 2nd round.

To be honest, if the pit fiend doesnt go down in 1 round I am a little disapointed, and that is with 2 casters. Unless it is on hard or elite then it is 2 or 3 rounds. That being said, it is not a pug run but a custom channel of 4-5 different guilds which we speed run non stop (typical is ~21-23 minute completions times, with occasional sub 20)

But it could definitely work with all melee and a war chanter. I just find it to be easier with a couple of good casters. Allows all your melee to concentrate on the portals alone, which can make part 1 go much faster. Also on part 4/5 its very having a acid fog for concealment bonus. And if your party has the dps to pull off 1 rounder, the caster can mana dump polar ray / lightning bolt which can add up to quite a bit of damage.

[Aspenor]

Of course, we all assume he already read this post, and the rest is merely hodge-podgery and conjecture.

I tire of this forum wordgame. Off to bed to rest up for another day of testing the forumites' mettle.

You mean another day of party wipes, because you seem to cause a lot of them.

[Vorn]

I pug the shroud a lot on Argo. Most of the time it's a 2-3 round part 4, sometimes 4 if there are few folks with top of the line weaponry. Sometimes there's even a failure due to lag/bad luck. Any failures in part 2 seem to stem from a lack of communication, pure cussidness, or a critical hit with a spell, and an inability to overcome adversity.

For the OP and many other folks who are 3 or so months behind the pioneers (who probably have 60+ shrouds on each of their characters)--don't lose heart hearing about speed shrouds and one rounders: those are probably closed groups anyway either guild or private channel.

Many thanks to the guilds that do open up pug spots, from time to time, to show the rest of us a bit of the "WOW!!" factor in the game played at it's best.