shneekeythelost
Dalayan Beginner
Greetings and assorted pleasantries,
It has come to my attention that there is a significant portion of the population that use the Mansion of Portals which, in point of fact, seem to feel that this area is particularly deadly. Having never died in there, I was always a bit confused by this sentiment, simply using a judicious amount of caution was plenty enough to get you through the place.
Then it occurred to me that people were, perhaps, unaware of how to use the terrain to their advantage in avoiding those four-armed menaces and little lights, and I thought that I should share this information with everyone.
First off, let's explore a bit about the two main hazards here, both will knock you a significant distance, and neither one you wish to get too close to.
The obvious threat is, of course, those four-armed menaces. You don't want to get too close to them. The first time one notices you, it is a minor annoyance. The second, it's a bit more worrisome. The third time, however, is generally your doom. However, there's some interesting things about these guys:
* Their peripheral vision is rudimentary at best. In a long corridor, should there happen to be a very small alcove to either side of the hallway, hiding in either one will keep you out of their line of sight.
* Most move very slowly. This means you have some time to move around in once you allow them to pass you. Don't catch up to them. Beware the faster ones...
* They move in fixed, predictable patterns. If you are worried, you may simply observe their movements for a time to get a feel of where they will be and when they will be going there.
Then, there's those little annoying lights.
* They generally cast some kind of negative effect on you. This can include a nasty snare, portal contagion (a communicable disease, you should get this cured when you get to a Healer, because others can catch it from you), or Portal Venom (no, seriously, get rid of this before it wears off naturally or you'll regret it).
* They tend to lie off the beaten path. Which is, generally, where you want to be to avoid the four-armed annoyances.
* Some of them have a VERY significant knockback. Beware ricochet combos. They can knock you into the more potentially dangerous four-armed ones.
* Some are very hard to spot, seeing as how their colors are random, some are the same color as their surroundings.
* They do *NOT* count to your three strikes. So it's not as bad as being caught by the other ones.
* Their pathing is almost completely random. There's no knowing where one might decide to flit to next, so be wary of ones near you, lest they get too close.
And some general tactics:
* A friend of mine once said you should 'emulate the solid snake' to master this area. To my experience, most snakes are, in fact, solid. So I was rather confused by his statement, but to satisfy him, I did make sure to make a note of it nontheless.
* Beware the Pong-Chain. You start getting knocked around, and you could end up with a half dozen or more bounces before you're done.
* When they knock you back, they vanish. This gives you a window to recover in. Take advantage of it while you can.
* Don't stray too far from the beaten path. For there lies the stupid little lights. As I said, those extra-dimensional four-armed monstrosities have notoriously bad peripheral vision. You don't need to go too far to avoid their watchful gaze.
* Don't try to go too fast. Slow but sure gets you there in one piece. Dashing around a blind corner can lead to running headlong into one of those... things.
* If you get knocked back, don't panic, it's probably not the end of the world (unless it was the third time a four-armed one found you, in which case it probably is). Prompt scanning of your area is in order make sure you don't get another bounce, and continue with your journey.
Well, I hope this has helped some people out. The Mansion of Portals really is a good shortcut to go from city to city, particularly ones like Athica and Newport. You just need to exercise a modicum of caution to survive the experience.
Also, mastering the Mansion of Portals is also good practice for something else you're probably going to want to be doing later in your career, although it's a good bit harder than getting through the MoP is.
- Voker <White Tees>
Erudite Thaumaturge of Jayla
It has come to my attention that there is a significant portion of the population that use the Mansion of Portals which, in point of fact, seem to feel that this area is particularly deadly. Having never died in there, I was always a bit confused by this sentiment, simply using a judicious amount of caution was plenty enough to get you through the place.
Then it occurred to me that people were, perhaps, unaware of how to use the terrain to their advantage in avoiding those four-armed menaces and little lights, and I thought that I should share this information with everyone.
First off, let's explore a bit about the two main hazards here, both will knock you a significant distance, and neither one you wish to get too close to.
The obvious threat is, of course, those four-armed menaces. You don't want to get too close to them. The first time one notices you, it is a minor annoyance. The second, it's a bit more worrisome. The third time, however, is generally your doom. However, there's some interesting things about these guys:
* Their peripheral vision is rudimentary at best. In a long corridor, should there happen to be a very small alcove to either side of the hallway, hiding in either one will keep you out of their line of sight.
* Most move very slowly. This means you have some time to move around in once you allow them to pass you. Don't catch up to them. Beware the faster ones...
* They move in fixed, predictable patterns. If you are worried, you may simply observe their movements for a time to get a feel of where they will be and when they will be going there.
Then, there's those little annoying lights.
* They generally cast some kind of negative effect on you. This can include a nasty snare, portal contagion (a communicable disease, you should get this cured when you get to a Healer, because others can catch it from you), or Portal Venom (no, seriously, get rid of this before it wears off naturally or you'll regret it).
* They tend to lie off the beaten path. Which is, generally, where you want to be to avoid the four-armed annoyances.
* Some of them have a VERY significant knockback. Beware ricochet combos. They can knock you into the more potentially dangerous four-armed ones.
* Some are very hard to spot, seeing as how their colors are random, some are the same color as their surroundings.
* They do *NOT* count to your three strikes. So it's not as bad as being caught by the other ones.
* Their pathing is almost completely random. There's no knowing where one might decide to flit to next, so be wary of ones near you, lest they get too close.
And some general tactics:
* A friend of mine once said you should 'emulate the solid snake' to master this area. To my experience, most snakes are, in fact, solid. So I was rather confused by his statement, but to satisfy him, I did make sure to make a note of it nontheless.
* Beware the Pong-Chain. You start getting knocked around, and you could end up with a half dozen or more bounces before you're done.
* When they knock you back, they vanish. This gives you a window to recover in. Take advantage of it while you can.
* Don't stray too far from the beaten path. For there lies the stupid little lights. As I said, those extra-dimensional four-armed monstrosities have notoriously bad peripheral vision. You don't need to go too far to avoid their watchful gaze.
* Don't try to go too fast. Slow but sure gets you there in one piece. Dashing around a blind corner can lead to running headlong into one of those... things.
* If you get knocked back, don't panic, it's probably not the end of the world (unless it was the third time a four-armed one found you, in which case it probably is). Prompt scanning of your area is in order make sure you don't get another bounce, and continue with your journey.
Well, I hope this has helped some people out. The Mansion of Portals really is a good shortcut to go from city to city, particularly ones like Athica and Newport. You just need to exercise a modicum of caution to survive the experience.
Also, mastering the Mansion of Portals is also good practice for something else you're probably going to want to be doing later in your career, although it's a good bit harder than getting through the MoP is.
- Voker <White Tees>
Erudite Thaumaturge of Jayla
