Commanding

Commanders keep everything together and going. What may seem a lot, can easily be learned step by step. Here you can find alot of info to get into commanding or inform yourself about different topics connected to commanding. (Guide based on EU server strategies)
Check the Commanding Guide for the document version!

1.1. Introduction

Before you read more about commanding Triple Trouble, you should know that there are no requirements regarding activity - you are always welcome to join us for the runs and command (or practice) when you like, but you never have to! Also, it is completely up to you if you want to command via voice chat, or only use the ingame chat - you do not need a microphone! 

There are many different approaches you can take when you want to get into commanding. Usually, you will start by simply running along and observing other commanders. This should give you a general idea of this task. Also, you can see how commanders communicate with each other to coordinate the event. If you have questions, for example why we do things in a certain way or how we make decisions, you can ask them after the event.
We're happy to support you with getting some notes and your own write-up (or you can use our resources instead), or listen and give you feedback when you want to do a dry run (practice explanation outside of the event).

Some people may prefer to only take over a part of the organization for the start (e.g. only explaining the event before the run or carrying the tag and making some calls during the run). When you feel ready, you can try commanding for the first time. There will always be an experienced commander ("shadow") running along with you to help and give you feedback - you won't be alone until you feel comfortable!

There are many different personalities and every commander has their style. Use the information here to get started and find your preferred way!

1.2. Tasks of a TT commi

Here's an overview of the tasks which a TT commi takes care of. More details can be found in the different guide sections below.
Doing the event mechanic and dealing damage is the job of your squad. You can help, of course, but you should focus on other things:

• Getting people: You tag up and get people to the map, possibly from a teamspeak/discord server, guilds or using the LFG tool. If you get the opportunity, you can advertise in map chat(s) as well.

• Questions: While waiting for players to join, people may have questions that you can (try to) answer - other commanders can help you.

• Explanation: Before the event starts, you give your squad an overview of what is going to happen and how they can prepare themselves.

• Calls: During the event you make calls so others know e.g. what to attack, what to do for the mechanic, and where to go for it - and what not to do.

• Coordination: You will communicate with the other commanders to time the decapitation of the wurms.

• Decisions: Making decisions is the most difficult part about commanding, but that, too, can be learned with some simple rules and practice. For example, to be able to decide if you, want to go for a damage phase or clear the arena first, if you need to do a mini burn, if you need help, etc..., you need to keep an eye on the arena and players and estimate how much damage you can get or if there are any risks like many adds in the arena that will slow you down. Only when you can see what's happening around you, you will be able to make good calls for your squad and to the other commanders. Take your time to learn and let us help you!

1.3. "Prerequisites" / preparations

None of these points are strictly required, but they can help and make commanding much easier:

• Event knowledge: You should know the basic mechanics for each head and the decapitation coordination - details can always be learned later (check the event info section to read up on general event info).

• Commander tag: The tag can be bought e.g. in Lion’s Arch (NPC near the WvW and fractal portals) or on the WvW maps. It costs 300 gold and 250 badges of honor. It's not impossible to command with a mentor tag, but with the actual tag you gain access to a 50 man squad + LFG, which will help to see how many people you have, squad chat + broadcast, and markers. If you do not have a tag yet, someone else can tag up for you and give you lieutenant.

• Character and map: It is useful to have the main waypoint (Firthside Vigil) and the WPs for the other two heads (Whisperwill and Jelako) unlocked on the character you want to command with. A level 80 char is highly recommended. If you know about egg blocking or dealing with husks, you can take skills to back-up these tasks.

• Communication: You want to make calls to your squad to keep the players updated on what to do and to the other commis - especially for the decapitation phase - to inform them about what is going on at your wurm. You can use the ingame chats or voice communication depending on your and the other commanders’ preferences. Just listening is fine as well.

• Notes: Having a document/spreadsheet with some notes prepared can help you remember parts of the explanations/mechanic or can be used to copy-paste certain messages you want to use during the explanation and event or to set up squad / LFG message. 

1.4. Handling the run

As a general rule: Keep it simple for the start and concentrate on giving the most important info to your squad and other commanders. Don't hesitate to ask for help during the run if needed!

It can be helpful to test how much time you need for the explanation before the run. Plan in some extra time for questions. The actual "schedule" for what is going to happen at what time depends on your own timing and on everyone being ready. 

Here are a few times for things that should be done before the event [times refer to EU runs]:

• Gathering (~1h-30min before the run): looking for commanders and blockers to do the run with + sort who takes which head, advertising the run, looking for a map.

• Tagging (~30min before the run or earlier): tag up, eventually taxi people from discord/TS in, open LFGs, set up a squad message

• Before the explanation (until ~10-15min before event start): Check squad and blocker/condi numbers with the other commis, ask people to move to a different head if needed, give some first info in the squad/say chat (e.g. starting time, WPs to get, how to join the map)

• Explanation (~10-15min before event start): if necessary on TS/discord move to sub channels, explain, answer questions

Note: This schedule is only an example; timings can be delayed by quite a bit. However, especially when you are still new to commanding, having more time will make things easier.

2.1.4. Lieutenants

You can give others lieutenant rights by right-clicking on them in the squad.
They will be able to place/remove markers (only while the commi is on the same map), invite/kick people and move them between the subgroups regardless of the squad settings, and use the squad broadcast.
Lieutenants cannot edit the LFG, nor the squad message and cannot move or kick each other.

2.1.6. Count-command: /supplyinfo

• Especially on Amber (and Cobalt) you want to keep the /supplyinfo command in mind. When you type the command into your ingame chat whilst tagged up, you can see how many people are standing close to you, no matter if they are in the squad or not (check the last line for the total amount of players).

• On Amber, you can use it to count how many people are stacking with you in front of the wurm, then count how many were eaten. If you are not eaten yourself, check the number outside again and calculate how many were eaten this way.

• On Cobalt, you can check how many people are stacking on the keg spot so you can start running when you have at least 20 people close by.

• You can type the command before the run starts and copy it, so you can paste it when needed, or you can get it back into your chat field with the arrow up key.

2.2.1. Teamspeak vs. Discord

For a long time, Teamspeak was the only program used for voice communication and vocal TT leads. Full chat commands were just as unusual as using other software. Still TS remains the best option for two or three simultaneous vocal leads due to the whisper function, which allows talking to people who are in different TS channels. However, many people prefer discord as it's easier for them to join.
By now, the main organization for our runs takes place on discord. And our commanders can choose whether they want to lead on voice or in the ingame chat only.
Unless all commanders are in the same voice channel (or on TS), the coordination will be done ingame - mainly in guild chat (or whispers if not all comms are in the same guild), or map chat (only on unorganized runs as well as NA runs).

2.2.2. Teamspeak whisper

The whisper can be set up with TS server or channel groups or the channel commander function. It makes talking to commanders only and talking to commanders in different channels possible by setting up a push to talk key to the target group. Besides commis, other team members, or for instance moderators can be added to the whisper list.

• Channel whisper:
  Only people with the whisper group/active channel commander in the same channel can hear this one.

• Cross channel (complete channel family) whisper:
  Everyone in main and sub channels can hear this one as long as they have the target group.
  It is used to coordinate the decapitation, to check numbers before the event starts, and to ask for/offer help if needed.

Note: Anyone who has the whisper set up can talk in it (even without groups assigned). But only with the right group you can hear it.

• Channel only whisper:
  - with channel commander:
  For Group Whisper TYPE (C) select "Channel Commander"
  For Group Whisper TARGET (D) select "Current Channel"

- with server group:
For Group Whisper TYPE (C) select "Server Group". You will get two more buttons, one to choose the server (server name) and one to choose the server group (group name).
For Group Whisper TARGET (D) select “Current Channel”

•  Cross channel whisper:
  - with channel commander:
  For Group Whisper TYPE (C) select "Channel Commander"
  For Group Whisper  TARGET (D) select "Complete Channel Family"

- with server group:
For Group Whisper TYPE (C) select "Server Group". You will get two more buttons, one to choose the server (server name) and one to choose the server group (group name).
For Group Whisper  TARGET (D) select "Complete Channel Family"

• Finally "Apply" your changes. You can rename the whispers if you like (useful if you have multiple whispers). In the whisper options you can turn on/off if you want to hear the "psst" sound when receiving a whisper.

2.3.1. General

• Be on point! When communicating during the event - no matter if you are explaining the event, making calls during the run to your squad, or talking to the other commanders to coordinate - keep it short and easily understandable while still giving all important information, sticking to the chronological order for the explanation included. Also, try to minimize possible distractions.

• Keep talking/writing during the run. This can help especially if some tend to run off or do what you don't want them to do. You can repeat simple calls like "stack up", "follow", "stay close", "do not attack", "wait", etc. Also, if you stop talking before the run (e.g. when you finish explanations early), tell the others that you will do so.

• Make early calls for what you will do next when it makes sense, for example: "clear wurms after the burn phase and don't run kegs" while still burning on Cobalt or "stop damage at 15% on the next burnphase" before you get to a mini burn.

2.3.2. Squad and say chat

• For vocally commanded runs: Unless you have nearly everyone with you on voice, you should always do explanations before and calls during the event in the ingame chat as well. If you do not feel comfortable doing both yourself, ask someone to help with the chat.

• Invite people who are standing near you and running with you into the squad. With everyone being in the squad, you can use only squad chat during the event. Otherwise use the say chat as well. The say chat does not have a large range, and you can easily get suppressed if you repeat yourself or send messages too fast. To avoid getting suppressed too easily, you can rephrase your messages.

• To emphasize single calls, you can use the squad broadcast (shift + enter) or use caps for specific words (e.g. "Do NOT fill blue!"), but avoid writing fully in caps.

2.3.3. Vocal Commanding

• Most important: You need to enjoy talking, so do not force yourself; it should be fun for everyone! If you don't want to talk, you can command in the ingame chat only.

• Try to keep talking during vocal commands. This does not mean that you need to talk non-stop (of course you can have breaks!), however,  let the people know what's going on and do not just go silent for too long. For example, you can inform them when you are going to answer ingame whispers or explain in  the chat.

• If you just don't know what you can say when there is nothing to explain, you can also talk about why you are waiting for the moment and say what is going to happen next.

• Often, it makes sense to read ingame questions (possibly in the whisper) out loud and answer them in voice as well. Even if the player who is asking cannot hear you, someone on voice might be wondering just the same.

2.3.4. Copy-pasting

• You can prepare an explanation to post into the squad chat while you are talking on teamspeak or discord. This way, you can do both at the same time. Also, single messages to post during the run can help.

• When pre-writing your own explanation, pay attention to the message lengths - you want them to fit into the Guild Wars 2 chat.

• The second option is asking another commander for their copy-paste texts. In this case, you should still read through the explanation first to know what it contains and you do not post anything "wrong" that you want to keep for later for instance.

• Do not just read out your written explanation!

• While you are explaining the event on voice, you can send the messages with about the same information ingame. They can also be used as notes for people who may have issues understanding/following you. And if you get distracted, they can even help you finding the point where you have stopped.

• You can also use your prepared text to explain the event when you are only commanding in the ingame chat. Do not send the messages too quickly after one another to give everyone time to read (you can read the text yourself twice, then post the next message).

2.3.5. Commi coordination calls

The following points should be communicated between the commanders. Typically, this is done either in guild chat (or whisper if not all comms are in the same guild) or on discord / TS whisper if all comms are on listening. (NA maps and unorganized EU maps usually use map chat.) 

• During the entire run:
  - any questions to the other commanders
  - inform about possible dc's or other issues

• Before tag up:
  - finding a map/which IP to take if there is more than one instance
  - say when ready to tag up + call to tag up when all comms are ready

• While gathering after tag up:
  - numbers of people in the squads, e.g. "Cobalt at 32 - 3" (people in squad - people out of map), saying when closing lfg ("delisted")
  - sorting blockers and condis (each squad should have at least 1 person who can solo block) - blockers are usually in the 2nd, condis in either the 2nd or 3rd subgroup

• After escort/before the start of phase one:
  - final player count stacking on the tag ( /supplyinfo) and/or numbers  in squad ("28 stacking at Crimson")
  - if you like, add the traditional "Good luck, have fun!"

• During the event
  - call out if you need help (like more people for the mechanic or to deal damage, ask others if they need help if they seem to have trouble or if you are not sure)
  - any other issues

• Decap-coordination - getting ready
  - say if you are going for a safety/mini burn
  - say when you are at the percentage that you want to decapitate the head from ("crit")
  - say when you are preparing/getting ready for the decapitation or need time
      --> Amber: call out when you are waiting for the debuff to run out + how much time left on debuff
      --> Crimson: call out when you are filling red and yellow
      --> Cobalt: call out if you are waiting for the keg spot to change / despawn timer to run out; say the time when you expect to be ready ("Cobalt ready at/after 8:20")
      --> all heads: call out if you need time to clear the arena first (eggs/larvae/wurms/husks?)
  - say when you are ready (+ possible issues)
      --> Amber: debuff ran out (people attacking the abomination? percentage of the abom)
      --> Crimson: red and yellow are full (anyone filling blue? how much is it filled? blue full -> warn others that you are not ready)
      --> Cobalt: fine with current keg spot and spot change timer (any random keg runners, randomly placed kegs?)

• Decap-coordination - going for the kill
  - Amber: ask for confirmation of Crimson and Cobalt being ready or agree on a time; call out when you are going for the abom, call when you are stacking in front of Amber and when you are being eaten. If possible you can call that you will be fine (when the arena is clear and enough people with the buff are stacking - or call that you may have trouble getting enough people. Tell how many people are eaten and whether it’s enough and the other groups can start or if they should wait ("Amber in, go!", "enough inside" - even just saying "Amber in" usually means that enough people are eaten). Call out if you are missing harpoons + how many or when you get the damage phase ("burning").
  Warn the others if you have low numbers inside the wurm (below ~28), so they can wait until you get the damage phase or abort and resync if you miss - make sure to call if you get the damage phase or not!
  - Crimson: Call when you are going to fill blue (after Amber is eaten with enough people, this is to confirm that you got the call, "filling blue", "going") and when it is filled ("burning").
  - Cobalt: Call out when you are going to run kegs (after Amber is eaten with enough people, this is to confirm that you got the call, "running kegs", "going"). Call if/how many kegs are missing and when you have enough kegs ("burning").

2.4.1. Exemplary function

As a commander you are often seen as an example for other players, and you represent the group/community that you lead events with. So show them your best behavior - it may not always be easy, but try to be nice and friendly. Don't get upset when people ask "stupid questions" or keep asking the same questions. Keep in mind that there are many new players as well.

2.4.2. Finding a map

Before tagging up and starting the run, you want all commanders to be on the same map.
Which instance you are in can be checked with the  /ip  command - post this ingame and the game will put out a string of numbers, divided by dots, e.g.  5.34.20.179
The last number (so in this case 179) is the IP that will be communicated. However, it is possible to have multiple maps with the same IP, or multiple maps that end on the same number while the first numbers are different.

• If you have multiple maps to choose from, check for other commanders or many people (who are possibly doing something else and may not be interested in joining the wurm run) on the map. 

• There is a spot in the water, north-west corner of Bloodtide Coast (near the Aquanarium Hydropost POI), that is often used by afk farmers - players leaving their characters afk on the map, most likely not joining the event, but not moving to a different instance either.

2.4.3. Unexpected situations

Always be ready for something unexpected to happen. The difficult part about commanding is having to make decisions without having much time to think. You want to be ready to react to these things with the first signs of them occurring, such as…

• Eggs and husks: It can always happen that single eggs or husks are not blocked. Usually (without other issues), you have enough time to clear the arena.
  If you are in the middle of going for a damage phase on Amber or Cobalt or got a damage phase on any head, you can clear the arena afterwards. Otherwise, you can clear before going for the next damage phase.
  Although, when you keep getting unwanted eggs/husks, you should check if your blocker is fine (any adds attacking?) and possibly ask for a back up.
  Try to always keep an eye on your blockers to spot when they are attacked by veteran wurms, go down, dc, etc.

You want to look at who is doing special roles (blocking) before the run - how reliable are they? Do they tend to let out eggs/husks/drool sometimes or do they usually catch everything? This can help you be more prepared for possible leaks.

• Scaling bugs:  This is a bug that makes the wurm take way too much damage - you may not be able to react and stop in time. Luckily, this doesn't occure very often anymore. However, there still is a trigger for the bug. Be aware of what is happening around you. If the wurm seems to take much more damage than usual, tell your squad to stop damaging right away to not decapitate it too early. If needed, you can do a safety burn afterwards, warning your squad to take it slow to not take any risks.

• Trolls: Sadly, it can happen that some people on the runs troll on purpose - either to annoy commanders and attendees or to sabotage the event. Usually it is the best to ignore the troll and continue with the event the normal way as long as it is possible. You can remind the players to follow and listen to you. Stay calm and ask the other commanders for help/advice if needed.

You may also get people who are not actively trying to harm the event, but that may not be of much help either. Look at the players in your squad before the run, during the escort, and at the very start of the event. Check their names, classes/specializations and levels. - You might find some players in the squad who usually help out a lot, or the ones who are lazy and shouldn't be counted on.

→ Generally speaking, low level characters will bring less damage and die sooner / more often. Some classes/specializations can bring more damage than others.
→ When you notice that people really don't want to follow your commands during the escort already, you can remind them of how important working together is and possibly ask the more experienced ones to help you in the chat.
→ With a lot of unknown players you may need to explain with more details and expect more players to fail mechanics. That also means you need more people for the mechanic overall. 

• Other heads in need of your help: You should always respond when one of the other commanders asks for help and react if possible, but also keep an eye on the other heads and ask if help is needed. When sending over people to help another head, make sure you will have enough for your own mechanic still. Do not just pay attention to the numbers, but also keep in mind that the people who are willing to move are often the ones who are listening and doing the mechanic the best.
  Try to get your own wurm head ready to be decapitated as soon as possible, so you can help out the other groups if needed. However, do not take any unnecessary risks and take as much time as you need.

2.4.4. Damage phase

• At the start of the damage phase, the wurm head will lie down on the ground and towards the end it will start getting up again. Before and after the head is on the ground, you can already/still deal damage to the wurm. Do not move out and stop damaging too early (unless you reach ~15-20%); you can use a few seconds more to attack. When the game is very laggy, this time can become even longer.

• Only when you see "0" as damage numbers, the wurm is actually invulnerable again. However, conditions which have been applied to the wurm during the damage phase will keep ticking after it becomes invulnerable. Keep this in mind for when you possibly call for a damage stop.

• Calls for the damage phase: You want to get people to stack inside the wurm to share buffs and hit both damage spots with melee weapons (piercing attacks will not work the same way). Let them stack boons like might, fury, quickness and alacrity - quickness is overall more helpful. Tell your squad to stay and keep attacking, so people do not move out too early. Motivate your squad to keep damaging. Also, already announce whether you want to clear the arena or go for another damage phase next.

2.4.5.  Safety / mini burn

After your first damage phase you should be able to estimate how many more damage phases you will need to get the wurm to the percentage which you can decapitate it from ("crit"). You can expect about the same or even higher damage for the next damage phases when people heard/saw what they need to do. Often you will deal more damage after 50% due to specific traits.

A "safety" or "mini" is a small damage phase that a commander will call for when the wurm is relatively low already, but it is uncertain if the squad will have enough damage to decapitate it with the next damage phase. So you aim to get the wurm just a bit lower. You are not planning to go all out on damage - make sure to inform your squad and the other commanders when you go for a mini burn!

Decide whether you should go for a mini burn...

• As a first step, look at the math: getting a wurm to 50% or lower with 1 damage phase (or getting a wurm to 33% or lower with 2 phases), means that you would be able to decapitate it next under the same circumstances - but it is not guaranteed that your squad will put out as much damage as before and there are other points to keep in mind.

• Consider if you had downies or if people were far away from the wurm at the start of the damage phase, or if you had husks/larvae stunning people and knocking them out of the wurm. All of that will result in lower damage. You may be slowed down by these factors during one of the next burns.

• On Amber and Crimson you can get extended burns which will allow you to more damage as you will have more time. You may not get an extend for the decap burn.

So even if your wurm is mathematicaclly low enough, you should still go for a small damage phase to be safe if the percentage is too close.

As a rule of thumb, when the wurm is at about 27% or lower after 2 damage phases, or when it is at about 43% or lower after 1 damage phase, you do not need a mini anymore - at or above those percentages you should consider going for one! Usually you should have enough time to go for another damage phase, so do it if you're unsure.

2.4.6. The extra minute

• The event timer starts with 14:00. In other words: Players have 14 minutes to decapitate one of the three wurms on the map.

• As soon as the first head is decapitated, the timer changes to 1:00 - doesn't matter if there was more or less than 1min remaining. If you do not manage to decapitate the other heads during this minute, the event will fail.

• Without having any issues during the run, you should not get close to the (first, 14min) timer running out. But it is possible to get one extra minute, if needed, by decapitating the first head just before the timer runs out.

•   Note:
  - The latest time that Amber should go for the abomination for the decap is at ~1:35 on the timer left to make sure to get the damage phase in time.
  - On Cobalt the keg spot will not change anymore after one of the heads has been decapitated.

2.4.7. Decapitation and 2nd phase

• The first and second wurms to be decapitated will have their heads disappear in the ground and move through the arena until the last one is decapitated. This time can be used to clear adds in the arena or follow the head if there is nothing to clear. Pay attention to the other heads' hp to know when the head is about to come out, so you can catch up to it.

• The last head to be decapitated will spawn right away. Amber and Cobalt will spawn almost on the same spot as the head’s position during the 1st phase, Crimson will spawn a few steps in front.

• Prepare your squad to position themselves between the wurm and the closest wall for the charge attack: You can follow the wurm when the last head is about to be decapitated. Also, try to get Mesmers to shatter their illusions, Rangers to call their pets to them (Soulbeasts can be merged with the pet), Necros should not have any minions (at all), and Mechanists should stow their mechs or call them to the group. You want all possible targets to be between the wurm and the wall.

• Prepare your squad to dodge: Out of the three attacks (wiggle - no dodge needed, keep on attacking; flop - dodge/stability; charge - dodge to the side/get out of the charge direction) the wurm will pick a random attack to start with, but it cannot do the same attack twice in a row, except for some rare occasions when the wurm does a "fill-animation", moving back and forth on the ground or gets stuck not doing anything for some time. That means, you can warn your squad during a wiggle to dodge the following attack. Be ready to call for another dodge during the flop animation and after the charge.

• You can ask people to bring revive skills, such as Warrior battle standards or Ranger elite spirits, before the run and call for them in the 2nd phase if a lot of players go down.

• Breakbar: A huge amount of CC is required to break the bar of the wurm during the 2nd phase, but it's not necessary to break it. Usually, it's best to ignore the defiance bar and just go for damage instead (most CC skill won't do anything agains the wurm's bar). Although, the United Legions Waystation from Drizzlewood Coast comes to great use here, giving everyone with its mastery the option to get the special action skill which can be used to CC the wurm. Ideally, you want to break the bar when the wurm is about to charge as it will cancel the animation it's currently doing and go over into the next one right away.

2.5.1. Escorts

• All escorts start at the main Waypoint, Firthside Vigil. Your task is to ensure that the NPC will arrive in the arena safely.

• Pick up the food, thesis, and banners (whatever is available) at the Waypoint with your squad and go to the spot where the first eggs will spawn. You can assign one or two people to stay with the NPC to kill any mobs in the back; everyone else should run ahead.

• A bit over one minute after the timer runs out, when the asuras are done talking, the eggs spawn. They are invulnerable for a moment on Amber and Cobalt, and a bit longer on Crimson. Try to get people to start attacking the eggs before they become vulnerable, so you start damaging them as soon as possible .

• On some locations wurms will spawn as well when (nearly) all eggs are cleared. The amount of wurms scales with the number of players close to the NPC. 

• You know that all wurms have been killed and you can move on to the next egg spot when the NPC jumps. Sometimes the wurms are killed before they come out of the ground.

• Sometimes (especially on the Cobalt escort) it seems as if the NPC got stuck and just doesn’t want to move anymore. This can be caused by “invisible” larvae which got knocked away and are hidden somewhere in the bushes, trees or even in the ground. Cleave the area until you get into combat and kill the larvae that way.

2.5.1.1. Amber

• The first eggs will spawn in the cave east of the main WP.  Wurms spawn after the eggs are cleared.

• On the second spot you will only have eggs, no wurms. Move on once all eggs are destroyed.

• On the third spot you will first need to destroy more eggs, during or after that wurms will spawn towards the way you came from. When the wurms are dead, a husk will spawn in direction of the cave exit. You can continue when the husk is dead.

• Make sure mobs on the way are killed, else the NPC can be stuck fighting. Check the map to see if the asura stands still.

• Before you enter the passage north of the Bogside Camp Waypoint, you want to wait for the escort abomination to get the wurm bait achievement for new players (see Amber below). You can send people who already have the achievement to kill eggs and enemies of the fourth egg spot ahead of you in the passage. There is an egg which becomes vulnerable very late. Double check that all eggs are destroyed, then you can move on into your arena.

2.5.1.2. Crimson

• The first eggs will spawn close the wall near the heart NPC south-east of the main WP.  You can call for people to start attacking the eggs as soon as the asura starts moving again after stopping near the first heart NPC south of the WP. Wurms spawn after the eggs are cleared.

• On the second spot you will only have eggs and possibly risen or grubs.

• Next up, you will get to the location of the phytotoxin enthusiast achievement. Tell people to run through the red cloud if they need it. The ones who have the achievement already should wait on the side as only a limited amount of people can get the buff.

• The little husk which is following the phytotoxin cloud will be attacked by an elite wurm. The husk cannot be damaged; kill the wurm.

• Before you can get to the third eggs, you need to destroy the wall on your way. The husk will be up and should be attack first for loot. After that clear the eggs.

• Now that the actual escort is done, you can keep running towards the cave with the rich platinum and possibly kill the champion spider queen or the blood ooze on the way.

2.5.1.3. Cobalt

• On Cobalt the eggs can hatch into larvae very fast. Thus you want to clear them in the order they hatch: As a rule of thumb, go for the closest ones first. Try to make your squad stay together and gather on the very first egg.

• On the first spot: Start with the single egg on the bush, then the two eggs on the tree and after that the one near the water. You can move on after the eggs (and larvae) are killed.

• On the second spot: Again you want to start with the single egg in front of the tree. Possibly the two eggs on the other side can be cleaved. Clear those and the three near the water next. Then clear all remaining eggs and finally any larvae and wurms which have spawned in the meantime.

• On the third spot you will have three sets of four, three and another three eggs. Clear the nearest set first, and on each set focus on the two eggs which are closer together. Check for any larvae.

• The NPC will continue, swimming across the water to the Dredgehat Isle. Players missing the wurm kleptomaniac should stay on the isle. Everyone else can swim ahead, killing risen in the water, getting to the next beach with the last eggs.
  For the achievement a pirate will spawn on the isle when the NPC arrives. He needs to be revived, after that people can interact to get the rum and with that the kleptomaniac. It is not necessary to help reviving, or drink the rum to get the achievement.

• KIll any risen left in the water and you will get to the last set of eggs. You can try splitting people to the two eggs on the left and the single egg on the right, or let the right one hatch and tell everyone to focus the left one. Destroy the three eggs in front of you and kill larvae. Then the escort husk will spawn.

• Clear the beach from mobs and you will get to the Cobalt arena.

2.5.2. Amber (1st phase)

2.5.2.2. Wurm bait and abomination

• The Amber escort achievement Wurm Bait used to bug out quite often when the abomination was CC’ed just before exploding. Luckily, this was fixed some time ago already.

• The abomination during the main event has the stability effect to prevent the bug. However, it still makes sense to ask people not to CC the abom and only use auto attacks as knock-backs during the escort are annoying and not a lot of damage is needed to kill the abo during escort and main event.

2.5.2.3. Starting the first phase - husks + stacking 

• After doing its two initial wide spin attacks and eating the first abomination at the start of the event, the Amber wurm usually spits twice (once eggs, once husks, in random order). You must find a way to deal with the first husks before going for the abomination. Else you are in danger of another bug happening.

• There are different possibilities. One of them is letting the husks be blocked. To make it safe, you can wait until the two spits are over. If any husks get through you can either kill them with the squad or perhaps you have condition damage players to take care of the husks. Wait until the husks are about to die, then go for the abomination.

• The same applies later during the event when you go for another damage phase and a husk spit is about to happen.

• This is necessary to avoid husks running around in the arena and following you to the stacking spot in front of the wurm. They can knock away players from the stack. If the timing is bad, this will happen while the wurm does its eating animation. The knocked away players will not be eaten. Especially with low numbers, this can make the wurm bug out and it will refuse to eat anyone for the entire event, making it impossible to get any damage phases. If you are lucky, you will only have to wait for the next abomination and can be eaten again.

• If you have husks (or wurms, which can also knock away players) when stacking up, call for stability to avoid the knock back. Reflects help against veteran wurms and larvae spitting at you. You can tell people to use them even when it is not needed (yet), but so people get used to placing reflects and using stability.

2.5.2.4. Shooting harpoons + extended burns

• Ideally, you want to shoot the (last) harpoons at the Amber wurm just when the wurm starts doing a spit attack. The wurm will finish doing the animation first, but you can already damage the wurm.

• Alternatively, you can wait for any animation, preferably egg/husk spit over aoe’s over wide spins.

• You can tell people not to shoot right away and hold on to their harpoons. Be careful with waiting to shoot for too long if you do not have many people. There is a risk of people going down from spin/aoe-spit attacks and losing harpoons.

• If there are veteran wurms, husks, larvae, or other mobs in between you and the wurm, you can lead your squad to follow you around and behind the Amber wurm and shoot from there.

• If you only have a few people and trouble with getting enough harpoons and enough time, you can prepare for the decapitation burn by only shooting a few harpoons, so you will need less for the final damage phase. Consider the time you need for the upset stomach to run out and to get the damage phase. Explain the plan to your squad.

2.5.2.5. Upset Stomach and clearing

• On Amber you do not have the option to repeat your mechanic immediately after a damage phase due to the upset stomach debuff. Remind your squad to not attack the abomination and use the time to clear the arena.

• You get the debuff after being spat out. Therefore, you will have the debuff even if you do not get enough harpoons to get into a damage phase. The extra time can be used to explain the most important parts of the mechanic again.
  If you try to go for a damage phase and stack up, but you do not have enough people to be eaten, you can go for the next abo right away (you were not eaten/not spat out, so no debuff).

• If you have issues with low damage or not getting enough harpoons, you will want to go for the abomination as soon as the debuff runs out and your arena is clear enough.

• If husks are not reliably blocked, you want to keep the husk timer (90s) in mind, too. If you have the time, wait some seconds when the wurm can spit husks soon to see whether they are blocked or not.

2.5.3. Crimson (1st phase)

2.5.3.3. Extractors/Containers

• About 30 phytotoxin buffs are needed to fill one extractor.

• Each one has a pillar that shows how full the extractor is already. It will be filled with the phytotoxin’s colour and increase every ~20%.

• When you are waiting for all wurms to be ready, keep an eye on the blue extractor, and warn the other commanders if it is being filled.

• When an extractor is full, the symbol above it and the symbol on the map will be filled out.  (Pictures below: empty - 40% filled - full)

2.5.4. Cobalt (1st phase)

2.5.4.2. Stacking before event start

• Many commanders stack up with their squads on the beach keg spot, hoping to be lucky and have the first keg spawn there. Some stack up on one of the other spots or in the middle of the arena.

• It basically doesn’t matter where you stack up. If you are not lucky, you will need to run anyway. You can gamble to be lucky and have a quick start for the first damage phase. However, stacking up (no matter where) can help you with keeping the squad together to run as a group.

2.5.4.3. Keg running and timer

• The key to success at Cobalt - besides the general coordination of the squad - lies in timing your keg runs.

• There are two timers you want to keep in mind:
  - The visible spot-change-timer (in form of the event timer on the top right; the spot will change on every even minute, so at 12:00; 10:00; 8:00; 6:00; 4:00 and 2:00). You do not want to start going to the keg spot when it is about to change.
  - The other timer you want to track is the one that makes kegs disappear again. For each keg that has been placed a 2min timer will start. After those 2min another keg that is placed in front of the wurm will disappear (even if you had a damage phase in between). You can memorize and eventually note down the time during which the kegs have been placed down to know which time to avoid for placing the next kegs or check the time which the last keg has been placed at and run kegs after that again.

• If you can get the kegs quickly without any issues, you will be able to go for the second damage phase right after the first one ends. After that do some clearing while waiting before your next keg run, or, if you have trouble getting enough kegs, it may be better to wait after each burnphase to let the timer reset.
  Also, check for randomly placed kegs, they will have the 2min timer, too.