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Elite Chronicles: Rogues Guide To Elite Ashral Tower
Elite Ashral Tower - AKA, Elite Inan, is one of the three maps that drops parchments necessary to complete the Nekro Pet Recipe. Generally, this is not a map that people run very often. Typically, this was a map that people would run once, so they could get the AP and ultimately, get Valkin (which is a terrific pet by the way). Honestly, parchment aside, the only drop of value here is an Elite Golden Puzzlebox (EGP), which, as we all know, holds very little value, so truthfully, you are here to get a parchment.
Be aware that this map presents two difficulties, the wolves and the large tanks. Both mob types are capable of one-hits, and the wolves in particular are a pain in the neck because they have armor and damage debuffs along with ensnaring procs. These wolves seem to have this uncanny ability to proc everything at once, then light you up with a one-hit KO. Considering that this is a long map, you should know the map layout ahead of time.
I strongly recommend familiarizing yourself with the map layout by visiting this post here, which is simply one of the most professional mapping efforts I've ever seen!
Once you see the layout, just be aware that this map has two main requirements which will maximize your success here:
- A Speed Pet (Hazel, Gyrm, McCraw, Slag, Abaddon, Scorch, Grimm or Brothers Whim)
- Noxious Bolt
NOTE: With Noxious Bolt, it is imperative that you use, at a minimum, the Strengthened Shot upgrade (second upgrade option). I would also recommend the Lingering Poison and Fragmentation upgrades (so, upgrades 1 - 3). DO NOT use the fourth upgrade, Serrated Arrowhead, since it is currently glitched at this time, and instead of adding a 15% damage increase, it actually removes 15% damage, so avoid this upgrade, since it is counter-productive.
(that's for reminding me to add this note Sera and Aspy)
So, with the prerequisites down, let's get to business and load up the map.
Right away, you are greeted by two tanks and two skeletons. Be patient, and wait for the two skeletons to reposition away from the tanks. You really don't want to aggro everything here if you can avoid it. When the time is right, strike one of the tanks and back off a bit.
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Draw the tank down near the entrance (to avoid accidentally aggroing the other tank) and put him down.
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Once again, ensure that the two skeletons are not in aggro range, and draw the second tank.
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With the tanks out of the way, you can safely deal with both skeletons at once (they don't hit particularly hard).
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Proceed ahead close to the end of the bridge. You will be greeted by several wolves. Patience, once again, is the key here. Wait for the roving wolf to wander onto the bridge and attack him with an arrow.
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With the first wandering wolf out of the way, continue ahead and aggro the two wolves that are, uh, feeding. Pay attention to the mini map, the preference here would be to only deal with these two at once. If you are impatient, you may find a third or fourth wolf wandering into aggro range. Once you have the attention of the two wolves, back off onto the bridge.
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Now that the entrance of this room has been cleared, you can proceed ahead and pick off one of the two additional wolves.
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Continue further and take down the last wolf. (Interesting note about the wolves, tanks and necromancers, when you see their long range attack warning, just step aside and continue attacking - there is no need for significant repositioning).
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Next, proceed to the left side of the room and find the shielded skeleton and attack him. Oddly enough, this skeleton is one of those glitch types, where they hit like an elite mob, but have the armor and HP of a normal mob.
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With the room clear, you can proceed ahead to the bridge where four skeletons are waiting. You can either pick them off one or two at a time (like I am showing below), or you can round them all up and knock them all down. Fortunately, these guys don't hit too hard, so if you're feeling strong, go for it!
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Return back to the main room, and take the bridge to the right. Proceed to the end of the bridge, and wait for the wolf to reposition close to you before you aggro him. Again, note how I just step aside when I see his long range attack pop on screen.
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Continue further in on the right, and pick off the second wolf in the room.
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At this point, three skeletons will spawn from the floor. Retreat back to the bridge and take care of them.
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Now, what seems to happen a lot is the wandering tank finds you before you are able to put down the three skeletons. Oftentimes, this starts off a chain of unfortunate events where the skeletons are aggroed, the tank is aggroed, and an inadvertent arrow aggros the two necromancers as well. If this happens, retreat all the way back to the entrance of the map where all the mobs will reset except for the tank.
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Interesting fact - these tanks have an enormously long tether before they reset. We will be using this fact to our advantage shortly.
With the skeletons and tank down, we now deal with the necromancers one at a time. Aggro the first one and retreat back so you don't accidentally aggro the second necromancer.
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Proceed with taking out the second necromancer.
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Finally, deal with the last wolf at the entrance of the next bridge.
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LET'S GET CRAZY!
OK, I know what you're thinking....I'm about to show off something insane. Now, yes, it's true it does seem insane, but there is a reason why I am suggesting that you do it this way. It will all become apparent momentarily.
Skip this room entirely and hug the left edge of the room to avoid as much aggro as you can. On the way, make sure you nail the tank with an Aimed Shot or Nox, just to get things started.
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Continue along the bridge and into the next room. Again, we will be skipping this room entirely. As you are running, make sure you are potting, and also make sure you are firing off charged Aimed Shots and charged Nox on everything along the way.
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Continue around the circle and go straight ahead (refer to the map linked above if you are unsure which path to take). Proceed to the end of the bridge and into the open room.
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Skip this room again, and go directly to the bridge where Inan's throne room is. At the end of the bridge, there are two tanks. Make sure you aggro them.
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OK, so, here comes the crazy part! Turn around and charge through the oncoming pack of mobs so you can get back into the open circular room (pot viciously as you're running through the pack).
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From here, all we need to do is run laps around the outer edge of the circular room, firing Nox and Aimed Shot behind us.
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Now, this is why a speed pet is highly recommended. With a speed pet, you are easily able to outrun these big guys, and so, if done correctly, you really won't even sustain much (if any) damage while performing this strafing strategy. Yes, it may seem slow, and even a bit monotonous, but it's effective and efficient. Keep lapping and firing charged Nox (the primary killer) and Aimed Shot behind.
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Eventually, you will be able to kill them all, and the truth is, you really won't be in much danger, though it may seem intimidating to be chased by 20 angry mobs.
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With everything out of the way, you can now proceed directly to Inan's throne, where he will have spawned. My preference here is to equip a crit based pet (Gyrm, Ribbit, though a high crit pet like Scorch could do just as well)
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My preferred strategy is to circle Inan, staying outside of his melee attack range.
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Pay attention to his AoE windup zones. When this happens, it is a good chance for you to spam a bunch of skills before you have to get back into evasion mode again.
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Deal with the Necromancers that Inan calls! Basically, as in my case, I prefer to keep Gyrm/Ribbit's AA available (for the 40% Crit buff) when the Necromancers spawn. Once you see the necromancer, it is imperative that you finish them off quickly; otherwise, they will heal Inan and you may not be able to kill him before he enrages (and when he enrages, it's game over). Keep the crit AA available, and when you see his AoE windup, pay attention for the spawning necromancer. If you see him, tap the AA and hit the necromancer with everything that you have.
Another point is that if you get pulled by Inan, don't try to return back to where you were pulled from. Inan usually pulls hard, and will typically send you well outside of any AoE windup zone (unless he pins you near a wall). If you use a lapping strategy, it will effectively keep Inan contained into the middle of the room, so you avoid getting pinned.
Beyond these two tips, there really isn't much in the way of advice I can offer, beyond never stop potting. Inan hits hard, and his windup attacks are usually KO's. It may take you a few attempts to get comfortable with the lapping strategy, but it is effective. There are alternative strategies (like the shadow strategy, which utilizes the columns to avoid the AoE attacks), but I generally prefer to Keep It Simple and Stupid.
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So, there you have it. What may seem like an insane pull actually results in a rather pedestrian run. Because of this strategy, this is one of those maps where the boss is actually more difficult than the mobs.
Best of luck to you all. And as always, I love screenies of others soloing, so if you choose to employ this strategy, I'd love to see a screenshot of your run!
