Comprehensive Guild Quest Guide

[DanDK]

Important: Please scroll down to the appropriate section if you don't want to read everything (its a long guide). For example, if you are just interested in stage 2, scroll down until you can see the big letters saying Stage 2. Alternatively, use Ctrl+F and your browser's search function if applicable.

This is the version of the GQ guide posted on Hidden-Street.net on December 30th, 2009. Do not distribute without permission.
Feedback is most appreciated, no matter who you are. You can leave replies to this thread and I will check back once in a while.

Author's foreword:

Hello!

Half a year ago, I decided to write a small guide for the members of my guild that occasionally are lost when we perform Guild Quests. I figured it would eventually be easier for them to be able to look everything up so I'd not have to repeat myself multiple times.

The guide is originally written by me and finished on June 30th, 2009 after some days and a total of about 20 hours of work. To make it understandable to everyone, I included renders which I first extracted and later edited with references. It was only shared at our guild forums.

As you probably guessed, I tend to become unable to be brief when explaining something, and thus, I eventually filled the guide with every piece of knowledge our guild has acquired throughout more than a thousand succesful runs and at least double as many failures. It has become a sort of encyclopaedia on the particular subject.

Now, there's not a whole lot who actually do take their time to read such a thing, but some of them thought so greatly of it that they suggested I share it with the community. After some thought, here it is. The guide was initially posted on Sleepywood.net, but after a week and not a single comment, I hope the community here is more grateful. It is very fortunate that you have recently upgraded the format for guides so that the full layout is made efficient use of.

It is my hope that you, the community (partly consisting of HS.net) will be able to make use of this somehow. Without further ado, I present to you the Comprehensive Guild Quest Guide.

I apologize for any broken English in this guide as English is not my native language.

Happy New Year!

History:

December 30th, 2009: Public version edited & published on Hidden-Street.

December 24th, 2009: Public version edited & published on Sleepywood.

June 30th, 2009: Guild version published on forums.

Introduction:

Welcome to the Comprehensive Guide to Guild Quest. The purpose of this guide is to teach every newcomer to a guild as well as advanced players how the Guild Quest is performed so that everyone will eventually feel at home in all the stages.

Note that the quest is sometimes referred to by other people as the "GPQ". This is not correct, as parties do not play a role as part of the requirement. The correct name for the quest is Guild Quest, because its about the guild, not the party.

Also note that even though I have split up the quest in "stages" and given each stage a name, there are no official "stages" or names to each map in the Guild Quest. This is only for your convenience.

All map renders have been rendered using WzExtract 3.3. The additions to each map have been made by me in Microsoft Paint (Vista) and watermarked. Thus, I expect that none of the edited renders are used without my permission.

The white lines going through each render is the result of using an unregistered version of watermarking software. Please ignore them.

The guide was originally written for display for a screen size of 640x480. However, in order to fit the forum size of SW.net, it was resized and may look a little strange here at HS.net. Please bear with me about that. Pictures are now 800x600.

Let's start out!

Preliminary checks (yourself):
Let's get the facts straight. Why will you attend the Guild Quest?

The Guild Quest provides:
- Guild Points that increase the fame of the guild
This is by far the best way to help the guild out if you really feel like it

- Great bonus awards compared to the completion time (~20 mins)
On average, you earn several millions per run, which is like repeatedly aPQing
You can also sell most of the scrolls fast in MTS and get quick NX

- Experience? NO
Do not attend the Guild Quest if you're hoping for EXP. There is little to none.

- Fun/Teamwork
A lot of people like to partake for a chance to work together and get to know your guild mates better. Its the only quest for the entire guild, and it really helps making friends! ^^ (okay, that's maybe going a little too far, but meh)

To conclude: Guild Quest provides
Guild Points for guild - Good money for yourself - Almost no exp - Fun with your guild

If this applies well to you, it'd be a pleasure to have you along.

Also, please make sure that you are of the cooperative, attention-paying type so that you won't intentionally or unintentionally screw things up. For first-timers, it is usually not expected that you will actually help out with anything; instead: follow, ask and learn.

Preliminary checks (group):
In order to succesfully complete a Guild Quest, certain requirements must be met in advance. This is so that all stages can be completed.

The necessary requirements, which cannot be left out, are:

- The Master or a Jr. Master of the guild to lead the Guild Quest
Only members of these ranks can lead. Leadership can not be switched during the GQ. If the leader is at any point not present, the Guild Quest fails.

- At least 6 people participating in the Guild Quest at all times
If any less than 6 people is in the Guild Quest at any given time, the remaining people will be kicked out (within 5 seconds) and the Guild Quest will fail.
There is no known maximum limit to the amount of people that may enter.
If the leader of the GQ is not present, the Guild Quest will fail no matter the number of leftover members.
The 6 people do not have to be in a party with each other. The GQ is, despite contrary belief, not a Party Quest, and therefore, it doesn't matter if there are parties or not as long as all people are inside and in the same guild.

- A magician class with Teleport at least level 1 (for stage 2)
- A magician class with Teleport at least level 17 OR a Hermit class with maxed Flash Jump (for stage 2)
If a magician with Teleport at least level 17 is present, he/she will be able to play both roles. If the magician cannot play the second role, Flash Jump can be used - this only happens rarely, but it is an option.

- A thief class with Dark Sight at least level 1 (for stage 2)
Although 10 seconds of DS can do the trick, it is highly recommended to have more.

- A thief class with decent Haste and/or speed/jump boosting equips (for stage 2/4)
At two points of the Guild Quest, you will need close to maximum speed/jump. It is possible to do these parts without Haste and only use equips that boost your speed/jump, but Haste is recommended whenever possible.

- A ranged class with maxed range or a character with ranged attack skills (for stage 4)
This requirement is usually ignored because the chance of having a party without range is a situation that practically never occurs. Nevertheless, it is necessary, and it is most often fulfilled by a Bowman or Assassin class, although it can also be substituted by e.g. the Genesis/Blizzard attack of a 4th job Magician. Note that short-range skills such as Magic Claw will not cut it.

- A character at exactly level 30 or below (for stage 4)
It is recommended that no matter the class, this character should be at least level 20 to succesfully be able to perform his duty.

Please note that all characters that enter the Guild Quest will have to be at least level 10 (for stage 0 - although it'd be really strange to enter below that level).

The group of participants should be able to kill end boss Ergoth (scroll to section: Boss Fight for details).

Also, it is highly recommended that your entire group consists of people that are able to understand English (or whichever language you're all speaking) to a certain degree, are able to work together with each other, respect the people in command and avoid useless spamming, ignoring commands and other immature behavior.

Stage 0: Entrance
Par time: 3 mins to enter; 1 min to gather earrings

Welcome to the Guild Quest.
The map for the Guild Quest is Perion: Excavation Site <Camp>, which can be easily located on the Victoria Island World Map (Default key: "W"). The map branch is accessed through Perion: Rocky Road III (between Perion and Ellinia) by taking the topmost portal, then going through Excavation Site I, II and III.

As soon as the leader of the Guild Quest arrives to camp (Master or Jr. Master of guild) he can initiate the GQ by clicking on NPC Shawn. Usually, there are no guilds in the waiting line - if there is, find another channel. As soon as your guild is up, all participants have three minutes to arrive.
Within these three minutes, the leader of the GQ must click on NPC Shawn to initialize the GQ sequence. He will be sent to the following map through the place marked as Entry Point.
(If the leader fails to enter within the first three minutes, the guild will be removed from the waiting list, and a new leader may sign up again.)



As soon as the leader has entered the map for the first time, all members have three minutes to enter. The previous timer of three minutes is reset. During these three minutes, the main portal marked Entrance to GQ is blocked, and all members are free to go in and out through the portal marked Exit point and NPC Shawn.

When the three minutes are up, the game will check whether the sufficient number of people have shown up INSIDE (6). At this point, access through NPC Shawn is closed, and no more people can enter unless the Guild Quest is forfeited and restarted. The door marked Entrance to GQ will open regardless, and you may proceed.



You are now officially inside the GQ (at Entry Point). Congratulations!

The main objective of stage 0 is quite simple. By hitting the purple rocks scattered all over the map, you will unveil Protector Rocks that must be worn during the entire Guild Quest. Because of a magical force protecting the area, you will instantly die if you do not wear these.
Oh, I just feel so sorry for you low-stat somethings that rely on earrings to wear your equips (not).

Make sure you get your earrings before continuing to the 2nd earring map. There are only two earrings on the second map, and you cannot go back to the first one. Due to certain requirements in stage 5, one earring must remain in the second map.

Once you have your earring, proceed to the second map.



As stated before, no matter what you do, leave one earring behind in this map. If you forgot to take an earring in the first map and there is only one left here, tough luck. If you do take the last earring from this map, you will be wrecking the Guild Quest for at least one other person, which is usually penaltized.

When you are ready, proceed to Stage 1.
MAKE SURE YOU WEAR YOUR PROTECTOR ROCK FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS!

Stage 0 recap & trivia:
- A Guild Master or Jr. Master starts the quest by speaking to NPC Shawn.
- An entire guild can only have one Guild Quest active at any time at once.
- You have three minutes to initialize the GQ once it is your guild's turn to go.
- You have three minutes to enter the GQ counting from the point the leader initialized.
- During the three minutes, you may enter and exit the GQ as you like.
- You cannot enter the GQ if a party member is carrying a GQ item. Either drop the item or dissolve the party.
- Upon entering the portal, all GQ items will be removed from you unless you smuggle them in.
- Once inside, you must grab a Protector Rock from the FIRST earring map.
- You may NEVER take the last Protector Rock in the second map (unless you're the sacrifice)
- Once you enter Stage 1, you will die if you do not wear the Protector Rock.
- The Returning Rock will remove you from the GQ while leaving the others to continue (unless you are the GQ leader).
- Death resulting in the lack of a Protector Rock is not imminent, but happens within a few seconds. If you are quick, you can switch it back on (not recommended).
- Death inside any part of the GQ cause you to respawn at the SECOND earring map. From there, return to the others. DO NOT LEAVE THE GQ.
- Once you leave the second earring map, the only way to get back there is to die.
- Death caused by the lack of a Protector Rock (or at boss map) will only take 1% exp from you.
- (Death caused by a monster inside the GQ (outside of boss map) will still take normal amount of exp from you!)
- You cannot expel any members from the guild while they are inside the Guild Quest.

Congratulations, you've finished stage 0.

Stage 1: Statues
Par time: 2-5 mins, depending on slight failures
Guild Points awarded: 15 Guild Points upon entering closed gate to stage 2

The purpose of stage 1 is to remember and imitate a sequence of flashing statues that will flash in a random order.

Stage 1 consists of three parts (referred to as "stages" by the quest itself):
Part 1: 4 statues
Part 2: 5 statues
Part 3: 6 statues

For all three parts, the statues will be randomly selected amongst the 20 different statues. Note that Gatekeeper is a NPC and does not count as a statue.



TWO people can complete this stage. It is advised that while these two people work, the rest of the participants sit silently at the door marked To stage 2 and avoid rampaging around. Stage 1 will quite well test the guild's teamwork capability.

To cover all twenty statues, one person should stand at the position marked Left side standing point and another at the Right side standing point. The person at the left will cover 11 statues, and the person at the right will cover 9 statues including the statue above the gate to stage 2. Their respective, approximate sight radius is shown on the map.

The players should communicate with each other through whispering (not recommended), Maple Messenger (not recommended), Party Chat or Guild Chat (the two latter solutions are preferable, but spam may sometimes make it better to talk in whisper or messenger instead). Please note that communication in All chat is not recommended because of the distance between the two sides of the map - there is a high risk that vital messages are lost.

To effectively memorize statues, it is recommended that each person on each side assigns each of his/her own 9 or 11 statues a name/number/letter/whatever. A example is found in the guide here (our own guild's preferred method). For example, the players could assign their statues with numbers from 1-9 (1-11), give them letters or numbers according to their position (T1-4, M1-3, B1-4 or 1-1-4, 2-1,3, 3-1-4) or name them Bob, Mark or Sam, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that the person him-/herself knows which statue is which.

Once everyone is ready, the leader starts the first round by talking to NPC Gatekeeper. Four statues will now flash.

Whenever a statue flashes on the left side, the person on the left side calls out the name given to that statue. Whenever a statue flashes on the right side, the person on the right side calls out the name given to that statue.

Example (this is what it would look like in the chat log):
(PersonOne is left side, and PersonTwo is right side)

PersonOne: 7
PersonOne: 3
PersonTwo: 3
PersonOne: 4

When the two persons have collected enough numbers (in this case, they ought to have collected four), they already have the order of sequence plainly written in the chat log. In this example, Person One would now start by hitting the statues that he named 7 and 3 on the left side (it doesn't matter that Person Two has no clue, because Person One is the person hitting them).
When he is done, he will inform Person Two (by sending him a message) that he/she can continue. Person Two views the chat log and sees that after Person One is done, he/she should hit the statue that he/she named 3 on his/her own side. After doing this, Person Two passes back to Person One who completes by hitting the statue named 4 on the left side.
Once both persons are done hitting, they will inform the leader of the GQ who will complete the round by clicking on NPC Gatekeeper again.

When everyone is ready, the leader will click again to start the second round, which works the same way, except with one more statue. The same procedure is repeated for round 2 and 3.

Stage 1 recap & trivia:
- Two people complete this stage while the rest of the participants remain silent at the gate.
- The two people working together position themselves so they are able to see 9 and 11 statues respectively.
- The GQ leader initializes the stage/round by talking to NPC Gatekeeper.
- The two members call the name of the statues as they flash.
- When all statues are done flashing, the two members communicate to hit them in the correct order.
- When all statues are hit, the leader talks to Gatekeeper to complete the round/stage. Rinse and repeat for all rounds.
- An experienced leader is able to take on the role as statue-caller while still managing the communication with Gatekeeper.
- After starting a round, there are a few seconds of delay where the leader can get in position if he/she is maintaining a side.
- During a round, a statue will flash approximately every 3-4 seconds. Don't be too slow to call it.
- If making a mistake in the chat log during statue-calling, fix it ASAP to avoid failure.
- If failing a round at any point, you are required to start from scratch.
- The leader can only talk to Gatekeeper to end a round (success/failure) if at least one statue has been hit by a player.
- If a player hits a statue by accident while the statues are still flashing, it does not count as part of the order. Only statues hit after the flashing of the last statue will count.
- If the leader talks to Gatekeeper and gets the failure message, he/she can press the "End Chat" button to avoid failure (but the order will not reset). This is useful if he/she clicked too early.
- Only the GQ leader can communicate with Gatekeeper. Other players will be requested to let the leader speak with Gatekeeper.

- THE STAGE IS EASIER THAN IT LOOKS LIKE. Many stages in the Guild Quest are about logic. Stage 1 is a pain to describe in text - but try it for real, and you will learn it in a few minutes.

Congratulations, you've finished stage 1.