Tol Ascarnen

TA is the central point for many battles due to it being squarely in the center of the map.  Owning TA gives a good jump off point to either rez circle keep.  Assaulting TA has OC as a buildup point for creeps and EC for freeps.  TA has multiple routes for both defenders and attackers, making resistance and reinforcements available to the defenders throughout the battle. 

Assaulting

  1. Outside - Press against either the OC/EC bridge or the ramp leading to TR, depending on which way is most convenient.  The bridge defenders are weak and after those are dispatched, any defending freeps will be out in the open.  If the OC Tyrant is activated, it will assault the west entrance
  2. West Entrance - Typically the entry point from the OC side.  Shoot and pull the NPCs out to simplfy the battle.  If hunters are upstairs or on the wall itself, either fight right up against the wall or pull them out a bit.  Freeps may run into the quest room,either clear the quest room and kill them or leave a rearguard.  If they pull the Tyrant into the quest room, it will get killed.
  3. South Entrance - If this is the entry point, pull the NPCs around the corner to kill them, watch out for oil
  4. East Entrance - This is largely the same as the OC side without the quest room.  Poor TA drops in right here and is convenient to strike from
  5. Inner Courtyard - Use the walls to break line of sight and pull the stair NPCs towards you, killing them away from the freeps.  As soon as these are down, charge the stairs and go up either the left or right ones.  The rearguard should be left here
  6. 2nd Floor East/West - Suppress the freeps while destroying NPCs or freeps running into the creeps.  Push them into the CG room

  7. CG Room - Pulling the closest FM will pull the closest two and the CG who will reset at the doorway.  Subsequently shooting the CG after those are down will pull only the CG and the closest remaining FM.  Clear these outside of the room while ranged is suppressing the freeps.  It's best to offtank clear all four FM's if possible to prevent the last FM from aggro'ing onto the raid.  At this point, rest up, eat food, then charge the room placing banners all around it.  Offtank the CG and burn down the freeps.  When they are gone, take out the CG.  Ensure that all members of the raid stay inside of the room during this else the CG may reset.  Note the respawn rate of the FM's is extremely fast.  The pulls must come right after another else they will respawn by the time you start on the CG.

Defending

  • Against equivalent opponants, resistance can be made all the way up to the Tyrant.  Against stronger forces, move directly to the Tyrant room and seek cover.  There are hiding spots in both the SE and SW corners where creeps can avoid being hit until the freeps enter the room.
  • If defending each component stage, let the NPCs be pulled then move with them and strike.  Fall back when the NPCs are vanquished.  Harrass minstrels to keep their power levels down and get those TA hotspots flipped red ASAP.
  • The stairs offer an interesting area to defend.  Against an equivalent opponant, don't stand on the stairs, be on the seocnd floor behind the walls.  If the freeps charge the stairs, creeps can drop on top of them and cause chaos or when the stairs are pulled, the raid can charge forward in support.  Try pulling freep melee or pets to the outer areas of TA to aggro even more NPCs.  If the hornblower is up, do everything possible to aggro it and not let it get killed before it can summon reinforcements.  Once the stairs are taken, anyone who succumbs should meet outside of the walls and wait for the Tyrant to be pulled
  • Tyrant Room Defense - In general,, the chieftans are too weak to strongly influence a raid vs raid battle but their respawn rate does complicate the freep's issues.  If the freeps do not pull and kill all the chieftains before charging, draw them into the remaining ones.  Target through the Tyrant with maximum DPS with wargs pouncing and silencing minstrels.  Each kill that the Tyrant gets gives it a significant buff which is cumulative so build it up as fast as you can.  In general, hold all the way in the back on the ledges or corners until the final call to attack is made.  If the Tyrant is reset, consider quickly whether to press the attack or to fall back and wait for the next pull.