When first setting up a squad to fight the Vale Guardian, you'll need to consider the following:
- The Glider Basics Mastery is required for the second mini-event.
- Your party will want to bring condition-cleanses, Aegis, and Stability to handle Knockbacks and Cripple.
- Classes capable of using portals and mobility skills are useful for the first mini-event.
Closing Rifts
Once you've defeated the Vale Guardian, approach the north edge of the arena and you'll find the entrance to the Spirit Woods.
The first event requires you to close explosive rifts before time runs out. You'll need to close 20 rifts within four minutes to open the gate.
- (optional) 1+ portal-maker(s): Makes portals between distant rifts for faster movement (usually ).
- Additional Skill Changes for Event 1
Uses Adrenal Mushrooms to reset cooldowns.
After killing Vale Guardian, go north and the follow the tunnel clearing enemies until you come to the ledge. Wait on the ledge above the arena so that you don't trigger the fight accidentally.
Spectral Rift Spawn Locations
- While optional, using location markers for the 5 Spectral Rift spawn locations makes finding them easier for inexperienced groups.
To start the event, kill all enemies in the arena.
- After wiping, the event starts when you go into the arena.
Enemies and red rings with orbs start appearing around the arena.
Stack in the rings (making the rings blue) until they disappear, or you’ll wipe. Kill nearby champion enemies.
- Kill the champions to keep their numbers low, or you'll be overwhelmed.
- As time passes, rifts start spawning more quickly. Close older rifts first!
- (if using portals) Portal-makers make portals between distant rifts, using Adrenal Mushrooms to reset cooldowns.
Closing Spectral Rifts (“(capturing) rifts”)
Spectral Rifts: Blue orbs that slowly descend toward the ground. If not closed by stacking players, 20 seconds after appearing, they explode for massive squad-wide damage.
- Unclosed rifts have red rings. Closing rifts have blue rings. More players in the ring = faster rift-closing.
- Rifts that are close to exploding have red orbs, rather than blue orbs.
To finish Event 1, close 20 Spectral Rifts within 4 minutes.
- Look at the corner of the screen for total closed rifts and closing progress of open rifts.
Go through the opened gate and across the bridge. Stack behind the far-left pillar, making it easier to kill most of the enemies.
Kill all enemies on the ground to open the gate to Event 2. Through the gate, wait on the platform. Don’t jump down, or the event starts!
Event 2: Escaping the Spirits
- Objective
- Run from an advancing instant-kill wall, while being attacked by enemies, closing rifts, and killing barriers.
- Kill the last barrier, so the instant-kill wall disappears.
- Special Roles
- 4 rift-closers: Support players close rifts, and then join the barrier-killers.
- 6 barrier-killers: DPS players run through Spectral Rifts (to help close them) and kill Ethereal Barriers.
- (optional) 1–2 portal-maker(s): Makes portals (usually ) between the final Ethereal Barrier’s rifts.
- Common Rift-Closing Strategies
- Different groups often use different numbers of rift-closers and barrier-killers, such as only healer rift-closers or more DPS rift-closers.
- Additional Skill Changes for Event 2
- (if portal-maker) portal skills
Use Ready Check. When everyone's ready, jump and glide at the same time as far as you can, to the marked location (in the above image).
- By gliding, you move away more quickly from the advancing instant-kill wall of spirits.
Kill Ethereal Barriers (“barriers”, “walls”) to keep moving forward, and close Spectral Rifts to avoid exploding. While doing so, you're being attacked by enemies and running from the instant-kill wall of spirits.
- Rift-closers close Spectral Rifts, in order of appearance, and then join the barrier-killers.
- The barriers have very large hitboxes, so you can often use ranged or even melee attacks while closing rifts.
Keep closing rifts and killing barriers. Glide after the third barrier. For the fourth barrier, if barrier-killers have ranged DPS, close the third rift while DPSing.
- Barrier 1 has 1 rift.
- Barrier 2 has 1 rift.
- Barrier 3 has 2 rifts. After the barrier, glide over the gap!
- Barrier 4 has 3 rifts. Portals are often used, so rift-closers don't have to run between rifts.
To finish Event 2, kill the fourth barrier.
Run straight, left, and then up the stairs, ignoring the enemies. Event 3 is in the graveyard.
Event 3: Standing on Pressure Plates
- Objective
- While being attacked by enemies, players go to stand on 5 pressure plates.
- Have living players on the 5 pressure plates at the same time, so the gate opens.
The pressure plates (“buttons”) are in 5 locations. There are multiple ways to get to them; however, from the top of the stairs:
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jumping puzzle: Jump onto the tree branch, and then run across it until mushrooms appear. Jump on the mushrooms — not the thin branches — to the raised platform.
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gazebo: Jump onto the tree branch, and then run across it until mushrooms appear. Jump down onto the nearby platform, and then run into the small building.
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across the gap: Jump across the tree branch to the other side. Continuing straight, jump down onto the nearby platform.
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mausoleum: Jump across the tree branch to the other side. Continuing straight, jump down onto the nearby platform. Jump down to the next platform, and then run through the vine-covered doorway. Turn left to reach the pressure plate in a nearby alcove.
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under the stairs: Jump down. The pressure plate is below the stairs.
To finish Event 3, all 5 pressure plates need living players on them at the same time.
- Downed and dead players don’t count.
- If doing the under-the-stairs pressure plate, wait for players to stand on the others — this one is attacked by the most enemies.
Go through the opened gate.
