Is there any kind of walkthrough for the Writhing Fortress?

SeaGtGruff · November 15

I went through the portal to enter the Writhing Fortress, but apparently it was a bugged instance. I left and reentered, apparently to a working instance since there were new dialog options, and tried to follow the hints being called out by the NPCs, but I still have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. What we need is a walkthrough or guide that explains what to do. (And I dislike playing games using walkthroughs, because I feel like that defeats part of the fun of discovering things in the game, but in this case I just feel so clueless that I don't know what else to do.)

Some tips that might be helpful include:

(1) How can we tell if we're in an instance that's bugged versus one that's working?

(2) Once we enter a working instance, what are step-by-step instructions on what to do next?

(3) For instance, I can repair a ballista and use it, but what exactly am I supposed to be aiming it at? Presumably at one of the pylons, but which part? The base? The thinnest part of the pylon? The very top? Is there supposed to be sone kind of health bar, like on a keep's front gate, that shows how close a pylon is to being destroyed?

(4) Lead the infernium to the gate? How do I lead the infernium? It won't move and there's no way I can interact with it.

(5) Grapple points? Where am I supposed to be grappling to? I found an instance where I could grapple between rocks that had ballistae on them, and I could repair the ballistae using parts dropped by the Daedra, but then what am I supposed to be shooting the ballistae at?

(6) Defeat the storm callers? Where are they? None of the Daedra in that area had any kind of "storm caller" label on them.

(7) Anything and everything else.

ZomZom · November 15

Ninja Pulls has a great explanatory video:

https://youtu.be/jdyPNnfuy1k?si=7-vSLl3FU0M_soib

SeaGtGruff · November 15

Thanks. I prefer reading a written guide to watching a video, but I suppose I'm in the tiniest minority in that respect. I'll watch it later tonight to see if it answers any of my questions. And when I was in the Writhing Fortress trying to figure out what I was expected to do, everyone else who was in there with me was doing the same thing as me, with equal lack of understanding and lack of effectiveness, so it wasn't just me. This was tonight, Eastern Standard Time, so presumably the behind-the-scenes patch had been already been completed several hours earlier, but a lot of people in the instance kept saying 'this is a bugged instance," and even after I tried to find a non-bugged instance and thought I'd found one, everyone was still running around trying to figure out what to do and apparently not succeeding. That's why my first question was how to recognize whether an instance is bugged or non-bugged.

UrQuan · November 15

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

Thanks. I prefer reading a written guide to watching a video, but I suppose I'm in the tiniest minority in that respect.

I also vastly prefer written guides over videos.

SeaGtGruff · November 15

Apparently my problems on PCEU were because every single instance I got dropped into seemed to be bugged.

When I tried it on PCNA, everything worked as it was supposed to on my first aatempt, and I didn't need to keep leaving and reentering the Writhing Fortress trying to find a working instance.

My initial experiences on PCEU left me feeling very confused and unhappy about the whole Phase 3 thing, but my experience on PCNA helped me feel much better about this event.

driosketch · November 15

Having gone through an entire run, I can try and answer best I can.

1) Check the map. If you see cross swords on the icons that look similar to the siege camps when they are attacked, your instance is probably working.

2) I will state first that this is an open dungeon not unlike the Oblivion portals from Blackwood/Deadlands, and your instance may already be partially completed when you enter. There are circle portals like you find in group dungeons that will jump you to the furthest objective completed.

Start by talking to the quest NPC inside. There are basically two paths you can take, left or right. You will be fighting mini bosses and breaking down gates. To destroy blue soul gates, fire the ballista at the 2 crystals atop the pillars. You get 2 shots before the ballista breaks, the glowing barrels have repair kits, you can hold 1 kit until you use it. The inferium breaks the metal cross gate. There are several branching paths, if you find yourself obstructed you may need to circle around. There is water that is an environmental hazard, you can hit the orbs on the shore to gain a temporary shield.

Eventually you come to one of two bosses, one on each side. This is a giant deadra that can only be harmed by the ballistas. At 9000 per shot, plus invincibility phases, this will take a while. Deadra will spawn repeatedly during the fight. After the boss is taken down, return to the quest giver you first met and then head up the center path.

The final boss is a titan. Hit the orbs to get the shield before you enter the water, which is where the ballista repair kit barrels will spawn. Grapple up to the floating platform to get the ballistas to hit the boss. At the top platforms you'll see ballista facing the wrong way, at certain steps the boss will jump over there. Dangerous enemies will spawn in the waters below, don't ignore them. Range attackers can hit them from the lower platforms, watch out for lightning.

After the boss is down, grab your chest, I think you get one for each boss, go into the keep and interact with the thing to brake it, (it's not like a sigil stone, each player needs to do it.) Take the portal back to the quest giver, then back to the lens at the camp for some light applause.

3) As I mentions, you're breaking the crystals at the top. There is a health bar. I did encounter one gate where the left crystal couldn't be hit from the ballista position. A different gate on the opposite side needed to be broken down so a different ballista platform could be reached. After the gate was down, a ghostly pillar became solid to quickly grapple back.

4) It moves on its own once you clear the objectives impeding it, and it's very slow. When it gets close enough, it will laser through the metal grate.

5) Grapple both to progress across gaps, and also to reach the ballista in the final boss fight. Aim them at the boss, you are limited in movement and I don't think it will let you miss.

6) I could be wrong, but I believe the deadra with the pillars of light are the storm callers. I always prioritize them before the lightning damage became too great on the platform.

7) The mob will mostly hive mind their way through, but if you notice something you can call it out. Be careful though, you might get nuked while typing.

SeaGtGruff · November 15

Awesome, thank you!

I didn't realize the portals can take you to different locations in the east and west sides, depending on the current degree of progression through each. To be honest, I found the portals to be a bit confusing, due to how many there are.