Last Mission in Factions Masters, with only Heroes *no* Henchies

When I read about this mission before doing it, it seemed that it was easier to do it with just Heroes and Henchmen, as they weren't banished. For those that haven't done it, Shiro will banish one of your party members to an island and replace them with a summoned helper for himself of the same class as the banished player. So, you could say ... lose a monk but he gets one! Not fair! Players that are banished can get back on their own, Henchmen can't.

Well, now he banishes henchmen too! And not just one, he would sometimes banish one henchman every 15-20 second leaving me with a group of 4 facing him with a group of 5. Not a happy camper. You *can* kill the henchman's "replacement" to get your henchman back. This won't work for Master's however as you are in a DPS race. Master's requires killing him in under 2 mins & 30 secs. Also, and maybe this is a bug, I never noticed Henchman using their "special celestial skill" they get for this mission either. They get one and are supposed to use it. But ... Hero's won't get a special skill for the mission, BUT they still don't get banished either.

Even if you don't care about the build strategy below, the above mention of the recent changes to this mission may help. Wiki noted change, but no good play results.

So, this annoyed me. My son came over and watched a few tries where I was (with henchman still) battling Shiro to long standstills testing various skills and methods to beat banishing. He pointed out (correctly so!) that the henchmen were now a net liability. I'd be better off without them. Shiro also has a *nasty* AoE that gets the whole party and only dps will stop it. He pointed out that one healer can heal 3 people up from the AoE fairly fast. So, we set up trying to beat Shiro with a "balanced group" of 4 with my Heros.

Here is what got me the Master's, twice so far. I'll note role and important skills, since I think most of out experienced H&Hers could quickly adjust this to thier set-ups. If you do this with another live player, just making 2 balanced squads should work. (he may banish one of you - but the other squad can take Shiro while your Hero's take your replacement).


Note on hero bar orders. Hero's prioritize "regular" attacks/skills/spells from left to right. So, if the AI doesn't have a good reason to use a specific skill, it seems to pick the leftmost one that the character has the resources (energy/adrenaline) to fire - and fires it.

[build prof=Ritualist name=Single Target DPS][Essence Strike][Bloodsong][Pain][Vampirism][Anguish][Weapon of Fury][Painful Bond][/build]

Job - single target SPAMMABLE dps, you want an attack cycle you can do over, so some resource management is needed. You're 8th skill will be replaced by the Celestial summon. If this is a Hero pay attention to bar order. I was this role, as I ran this as a Rit. This can be done as a Hero, or player, any /Rit will work. Max Communing and Channeling. Keep [Painful Bond] up as much as possible on Shiro.

[build prof=War name=Front Line][Auspicious Parry][Wild Blow][Deadly Riposte][Sever Artery][Gash][Riposte][Lion's Comfort][Flail][/build]

Job - Stance removal on Shiro, this is a must. I used [Wild Blow]. After that, consistent damage pressure and staying alive while doing it. If you run this as the player, I'd drop the second Risposte for the Celestial skill. Max Sword, split rest between Tactics and Strength, with more in Tactics.

[build prof=Monk name=Healing][Glimmer of Light][Patient Spirit][Guardian][Protective Spirit][Signet of Devotion][Heaven's Delight][Vigorous Spirit][Resurrect][/build]

Job - Keep a single target up with low cost, so you have energy to quickly bring up the group from AoE. So low cost cheap heals, while taking advantage of no enchantment removal. I went in with Healing 13, Protection 11, Divine Favor 12. Yes, its PvE, slap a couple major's in there. I don't usually like Heaven's Delight, but it was used well here by the Hero. If this is done by the player, I'd drop rez, really. The utility char will have a signet, if you need more than that your 2 1/2 minutes is up anyway.

[build prof=Mesmer/Necromancer name=Utility DPS][Spoil Victor][Empathy][Diversion][Signet of Clumsiness][Signet of Disruption][Mark of Fury][Leech Signet][Res Sig][/build]

Job - [Spoil Victor] up always until Shiro goes into sudden death mode at 30%, then make sure [Empathy] is on as well. Fire the other interrupts as you see openings. If player I'd drop Leech Signet. Max Domination, Max Blood. M/N or N/Me works. Make sure you pack

[Spoil Victor][Empathy], some interrupts and [Mark of Fury] was a nice touch to keep pressure up on Shiro. As a Hero, I went heavy signet to make sure Gwen would have the energy to keep the first two skills up all the time. A player (who has more restraint that KILROY! Heroes can change the signets to whatever they like).

Walkthrough.

Enter. Place Spirits before engaging (micro this if its a Hero). Send Heroes to Shiro. They all know their jobs until Shiro gets to 30% health, then click Empathy on the Mesmer bar to make sure it gets put up when Shiro goes into his frenzy. When Shiro is at 10-15% health pop your Celestial summon.