Current White-Gold Tower mechanics?

FrancisCrawford · September 2019

What's the current story on White-Gold Tower mechanics. I'm linking Xynode's guide, but I think it's out of date in one respect, because I think there was a nerf to the Planar Inhibitor's portals in which there's a limit as to how many enemies come through a portal even if it isn't closed. (Is the limit just one?) But I'm basing that on what I think I recall from patch notes; I haven't actually been in WGT much for a while.

Is that accurate? Have there been any other recent changes?

And by the way -- does anybody have any actual numbers for the Planar Inhibitor damage? I'm generally the healer, and I don't take the pinion, so the damage usually isn't on me.

But I'm still curious, for various planning purposes.

https://www.xynodegaming.com/white-gold-tower

Taleof2Cities · September 2019

White Gold Tower isn’t high difficulty anymore, @FrancisCrawford.

So, crunching numbers on the exact damage output the Planar Inhibitor does is probably overkill at this point.

As long as your group follows the mechanics you’ll be fine.

When I heal the Planar Inhibitor, I usually rotate in on pinion to help the tank out. During the “blue flames” phase, I just kite the boss around the far wall and send out distance heals like Radiating Regeneration.

Though with strong DPS in the group, you can burn the Planar Inhibitor before it even gets to “blue flames” phase.

And, yes, the portals are much easier to close now ... one full heavy attack with your Restoration Staff is more than adequate on Vet.

FrancisCrawford · September 2019

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

White Gold Tower isn’t high difficulty anymore, @FrancisCrawford.

So, crunching numbers on the exact damage output the Planar Inhibitor does is probably overkill at this point.

As long as your group follows the mechanics you’ll be fine.

When I heal the Planar Inhibitor, I usually rotate in on pinion to help the tank out. During the “blue flames” phase, I just kite the boss around the far wall and send out distance heals like Radiating Regeneration.

Though with strong DPS in the group, you can burn the Planar Inhibitor before it even gets to “blue flames” phase.

And, yes, the portals are much easier to close now ... one full heavy attack with your Restoration Staff is more than adequate on Vet.

The few times I've done WGT recently, normal or vet, the tank has held the pinion the whole time. But then, since I heal almost exclusive in GF PUGs without voice, a smooth pinion exchange has generally proved to be very hard to pull off.

As for the question itself -- I do have my reasons for asking. One motivation is that I'm a VERY inexperienced tank (I've never tanked anything harder than Direfrost Keep or so), and I'm considering whether to chance it for the event. Similarly, I'm wondering how weak a healer I can plan to take (and I'm planning ahead because the dungeons included in the event have their pledge days near its beginning).

Grianasteri · September 2019

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

White Gold Tower isn’t high difficulty anymore, @FrancisCrawford.

So, crunching numbers on the exact damage output the Planar Inhibitor does is probably overkill at this point.

As long as your group follows the mechanics you’ll be fine.

When I heal the Planar Inhibitor, I usually rotate in on pinion to help the tank out. During the “blue flames” phase, I just kite the boss around the far wall and send out distance heals like Radiating Regeneration.

Though with strong DPS in the group, you can burn the Planar Inhibitor before it even gets to “blue flames” phase.

And, yes, the portals are much easier to close now ... one full heavy attack with your Restoration Staff is more than adequate on Vet.

The few times I've done WGT recently, normal or vet, the tank has held the pinion the whole time. But then, since I heal almost exclusive in GF PUGs without voice, a smooth pinion exchange has generally proved to be very hard to pull off.

As for the question itself -- I do have my reasons for asking. One motivation is that I'm a VERY inexperienced tank (I've never tanked anything harder than Direfrost Keep or so), and I'm considering whether to chance it for the event. Similarly, I'm wondering how weak a healer I can plan to take (and I'm planning ahead because the dungeons included in the event have their pledge days near its beginning).

I would say if you are a mid to high CP player, with a reasonable tank set up in terms of build etc, then you will have little trouble tanking WGT on normal, so just go for it, after a run or two you will be flying through. The only potentially difficult point on normal is the final boss, where you need to be a bit more tank savy and play the mechanics a little bit more.

Vet is as ever, a more difficult prospect and the requirement to play the mechanics & tank properly is more important. But having said that, if your group has decent dps it really isnt something to be overly concerned about, with the final boss again being the main pinch point.

FrancisCrawford · September 2019

Grianasteri wrote: »

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

White Gold Tower isn’t high difficulty anymore, @FrancisCrawford.

So, crunching numbers on the exact damage output the Planar Inhibitor does is probably overkill at this point.

As long as your group follows the mechanics you’ll be fine.

When I heal the Planar Inhibitor, I usually rotate in on pinion to help the tank out. During the “blue flames” phase, I just kite the boss around the far wall and send out distance heals like Radiating Regeneration.

Though with strong DPS in the group, you can burn the Planar Inhibitor before it even gets to “blue flames” phase.

And, yes, the portals are much easier to close now ... one full heavy attack with your Restoration Staff is more than adequate on Vet.

The few times I've done WGT recently, normal or vet, the tank has held the pinion the whole time. But then, since I heal almost exclusive in GF PUGs without voice, a smooth pinion exchange has generally proved to be very hard to pull off.

As for the question itself -- I do have my reasons for asking. One motivation is that I'm a VERY inexperienced tank (I've never tanked anything harder than Direfrost Keep or so), and I'm considering whether to chance it for the event. Similarly, I'm wondering how weak a healer I can plan to take (and I'm planning ahead because the dungeons included in the event have their pledge days near its beginning).

I would say if you are a mid to high CP player, with a reasonable tank set up in terms of build etc, then you will have little trouble tanking WGT on normal, so just go for it, after a run or two you will be flying through. The only potentially difficult point on normal is the final boss, where you need to be a bit more tank savy and play the mechanics a little bit more.

Vet is as ever, a more difficult prospect and the requirement to play the mechanics & tank properly is more important. But having said that, if your group has decent dps it really isnt something to be overly concerned about, with the final boss again being the main pinch point.

Now that you mention it -- how does one tank the final fight? IIRC, Molag Kena likes to jump around a bit. She certainly likes to knock folks back. The adds should be kept at range or kited by everybody. The rotating lightning wall is what it is. So what strategies are likely to work?

FrancisCrawford · September 2019

Also, is something like Magma Shell useful vs. the Planar Inhibitor, or do all the stacks of debuff count separately for its effect?

Grianasteri · September 2019

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

Grianasteri wrote: »

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

White Gold Tower isn’t high difficulty anymore, @FrancisCrawford.

So, crunching numbers on the exact damage output the Planar Inhibitor does is probably overkill at this point.

As long as your group follows the mechanics you’ll be fine.

When I heal the Planar Inhibitor, I usually rotate in on pinion to help the tank out. During the “blue flames” phase, I just kite the boss around the far wall and send out distance heals like Radiating Regeneration.

Though with strong DPS in the group, you can burn the Planar Inhibitor before it even gets to “blue flames” phase.

And, yes, the portals are much easier to close now ... one full heavy attack with your Restoration Staff is more than adequate on Vet.

The few times I've done WGT recently, normal or vet, the tank has held the pinion the whole time. But then, since I heal almost exclusive in GF PUGs without voice, a smooth pinion exchange has generally proved to be very hard to pull off.

As for the question itself -- I do have my reasons for asking. One motivation is that I'm a VERY inexperienced tank (I've never tanked anything harder than Direfrost Keep or so), and I'm considering whether to chance it for the event. Similarly, I'm wondering how weak a healer I can plan to take (and I'm planning ahead because the dungeons included in the event have their pledge days near its beginning).

I would say if you are a mid to high CP player, with a reasonable tank set up in terms of build etc, then you will have little trouble tanking WGT on normal, so just go for it, after a run or two you will be flying through. The only potentially difficult point on normal is the final boss, where you need to be a bit more tank savy and play the mechanics a little bit more.

Vet is as ever, a more difficult prospect and the requirement to play the mechanics & tank properly is more important. But having said that, if your group has decent dps it really isnt something to be overly concerned about, with the final boss again being the main pinch point.

Now that you mention it -- how does one tank the final fight? IIRC, Molag Kena likes to jump around a bit. She certainly likes to knock folks back. The adds should be kept at range or kited by everybody. The rotating lightning wall is what it is. So what strategies are likely to work?

I have not ran vWGT as a tank for a while, but from memory you need to block the big hits and waves of shock damage, there is not much else to it - keep boss in the middle if possible or knock backs can hit you off the platform. Be sure to avoid the lines of shock damage when they spawn. You need to keep the taunt up or the big hits can kill team mates. If the boss jumps around, re taunt and bring back to the middle if possible. Everyone needs to focus the adds when they spawn (from range), then switch back to boss.

There is an earlier boss that mainly just needs burned down, but she does teleport folk into a cage that kills them if they dont escape fast enough... if the tank or healer is teleported, this can potentially cause a wipe. But if the team has good survivability its usually fine. And high dps groups burn the boss down pretty quick before any probs happen.

Sorry my memory is a bit sketchy. I may head back in over the next few days of the event, perhaps I will pick a tank and if I have anything to add I will post it here.

kylewwefan · September 2019

The absolute easiest way to do it is 1 tank, 3 DPS, normal Nuke the inhibitor right where she stands. With great burn, you can do it on Vet also.

I’ve rarely ever, had a pug that can actually do the pinion mechanic correctly. And I Pug a lot.

You want to be done with this dungeon in roughly 10 minutes or less. Don’t hassle with vet pugs. They won’t do it.Normal

Pugs can’t handle mechanics, but they often can burn. Specially in normal.

Remember, the inhibitor is gonna dive 3 times. After the third dive, she goes blue phase. (With any luck she’ll be dead by now) if not, someone has to grab the pinion and run far away. That could be the tank. Not long after this, she goes into down phase. Commence the nuke.

Trinity_Is_My_Name · September 2019

You don't need super high DPS to burn her in place. Simple way to do this boss (yes, in Vet) is to simply NOT touch the Pinion and instead have the Tank taunt her while the DPS burn her in place. Keep her in one spot as the Tank and do not move much at all.

Drop everything on her and as the Healer keep your HOTs going full time and burst heals too. Ignore the Rifts and the Ads that pop up and keep burning.

It's not hard to burn her with no deaths but you may lose the Tank close to the end of burning her. There are several Achievements for doing this and a lot of fun.

FrancisCrawford · September 2019

kylewwefan wrote: »

The absolute easiest way to do it is 1 tank, 3 DPS, normal Nuke the inhibitor right where she stands. With great burn, you can do it on Vet also.

I’ve rarely ever, had a pug that can actually do the pinion mechanic correctly. And I Pug a lot.

You want to be done with this dungeon in roughly 10 minutes or less. Don’t hassle with vet pugs. They won’t do it.Normal

Pugs can’t handle mechanics, but they often can burn. Specially in normal.

Remember, the inhibitor is gonna dive 3 times. After the third dive, she goes blue phase. (With any luck she’ll be dead by now) if not, someone has to grab the pinion and run far away. That could be the tank. Not long after this, she goes into down phase. Commence the nuke.

Wait -- are you saying that nobody even has to take the pinion at all until the fight has been underway for a while?

Also, something I've never been clear on -- when she goes down saying something like "I can't handle this any more" (obviously not an exact quote), is she actually more vulnerable to damage, or is it just easier to damage her because she isn't dishing anything out at the moment?

FrancisCrawford · September 2019

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

kylewwefan wrote: »

The absolute easiest way to do it is 1 tank, 3 DPS, normal Nuke the inhibitor right where she stands. With great burn, you can do it on Vet also.

I’ve rarely ever, had a pug that can actually do the pinion mechanic correctly. And I Pug a lot.

You want to be done with this dungeon in roughly 10 minutes or less. Don’t hassle with vet pugs. They won’t do it.Normal

Pugs can’t handle mechanics, but they often can burn. Specially in normal.

Remember, the inhibitor is gonna dive 3 times. After the third dive, she goes blue phase. (With any luck she’ll be dead by now) if not, someone has to grab the pinion and run far away. That could be the tank. Not long after this, she goes into down phase. Commence the nuke.

Wait -- are you saying that nobody even has to take the pinion at all until the fight has been underway for a while?

Trinity_Is_My_Name wrote: »

You don't need super high DPS to burn her in place. Simple way to do this boss (yes, in Vet) is to simply NOT touch the Pinion and instead have the Tank taunt her while the DPS burn her in place. Keep her in one spot as the Tank and do not move much at all.

Drop everything on her and as the Healer keep your HOTs going full time and burst heals too. Ignore the Rifts and the Ads that pop up and keep burning.

It's not hard to burn her with no deaths but you may lose the Tank close to the end of burning her. There are several Achievements for doing this and a lot of fun.

And are you saying nobody has to take the pinion AT ALL if the tank is content eating all the aggro? And are you also saying that taunts work on her (this doesn't seem to be the usual opinion)?

Also, something I've never been clear on -- when the Planar Inhibitor goes down saying something like "I can't handle this any more" (obviously not an exact quote), is she actually more vulnerable to damage, or is it just easier to damage her because she isn't dishing anything out at the moment?

FrancisCrawford · September 2019

Grianasteri wrote: »

There is an earlier boss that mainly just needs burned down, but she does teleport folk into a cage that kills them if they dont escape fast enough... if the tank or healer is teleported, this can potentially cause a wipe. But if the team has good survivability its usually fine. And high dps groups burn the boss down pretty quick before any probs happen.

Yeah. That's the first boss, I think the "Adjudicator". She has adds who come running (fastest dead people in the game, or tied with some in Vaults of Madness) and a couple of towers that do environmental damage, plus a random teleport of people into cages w/ intermediate-difficulty locks (and fire while you're there). Still, the whole fight is rarely hard.

The other boss that confuses me a little is the triple boss. It seems like an obvious case of all three bosses being properly tanked at the same place, to gather them for AoE, yet that rarely happens in practice when I'm there. Indeed, a guide I read (probably Xynode's) says those (mini)bosses can be stunned and so on, and the healer should be interrupted. And by the way, per the guide and adding to the confusion -- all three have DK aspects to them, including banners.

One last note -- like many DLC dungeons, WGT has "hallway" trash fights tough enough that proper tanking and healing are called for. They aren't at the boss fight level at all, but you also shouldn't fall asleep.

kylewwefan · September 2019

Tank Grab the pinion. It will come back up in the fight, but tank still has aggro. The only way to taunt this boss is with the pinion.

I just leave it alone, so if she does go to blue phase, the tank can run her to other side of room and then someone can grab it. Its not super important until she goes blue phase.

When she goes “down” after blue phase, she just sits there for about 5 or 10 seconds. You can focus her very easily. It’s not any kind of special vulnerability or anything.

Someone will still likely need to do portals while the others burn the boss down, or you’ll get overrun by ads. If ogrims come out it’s likely a wipe.

You have like 5 or 10 seconds from portal spawn til ads appear to decide if you need to deal with them or keep nuking boss.

Before you enter this room there is a giant ash titan and a Deadroth. Build Ult on them so you can drop that on the planar inhibitor as soon as you get in.

El_Borracho · September 2019

kylewwefan wrote: »

Tank Grab the pinion. It will come back up in the fight, but tank still has aggro. The only way to taunt this boss is with the pinion.

I just leave it alone, so if she does go to blue phase, the tank can run her to other side of room and then someone can grab it. Its not super important until she goes blue phase.

When she goes “down” after blue phase, she just sits there for about 5 or 10 seconds. You can focus her very easily. It’s not any kind of special vulnerability or anything.

Someone will still likely need to do portals while the others burn the boss down, or you’ll get overrun by ads. If ogrims come out it’s likely a wipe.

You have like 5 or 10 seconds from portal spawn til ads appear to decide if you need to deal with them or keep nuking boss.

Before you enter this room there is a giant ash titan and a Deadroth. Build Ult on them so you can drop that on the planar inhibitor as soon as you get in.

Yup. I've been lucky to run vet WGT with several good pugs as a DPS. One thing I am constantly aware of is sometimes I need to grab the pinion if the tank is occupied or overwhelmed, then I kite the adds around. It seems to work, but only with a semi-cohesive group. Again, I've only had to do this with pugs