Dunes Of Despair

Dunes of Despair can be completed solo by exploiting two things: 1) A cutscene triggers after killing the mesmer boss and its two mobs, and 2) Whenever a cutscene happens, you and your allies are teleported to a set location. Alternatively, you can play Mo/any or any/Mo and bond up the Ghostly Hero, with no need to do the Cutscene Exploit (first done by Maga). You can also defend the Ghost as seen here, which is easier if you have ways to kill the Siege wurms (e.g. Wastrel's Worry and Chaos Storm).

Mission

• Consider leaving the Ghostly Hero at the very start of the mission by talking to him. He will fight anything that aggros him until either it dies or he dies. You won't need him until further into the mission, in which case, you can come back and get him.
• The Losaru Bladehands at the start of the mission have Riposte, so be wary when fighting them as melee.
• There are three groups of 3x Losaru Bladehands. The first two groups will stagger their approach, whereas the third group is all together. This third group has a short leash range, as do the following 3x Losaru Bowmasters.
• The Siege Wurm doesn't need to be killed. You can skip past it and reach the other side through a wooden bridge.
• The Losaru Bladehands at the Slow Totem location can all be pulled individually.
• Mesmer boss has a snare hex, Ethereal Burden, so be careful when attacking him.
  • Chaos storm can be avoided from this boss by using a martial weapon, but then the ranger in his group will approach and use Throw Dirt, which can allow for an easier Concussion Shot. Energy Burn can be avoided if you keep your energy below 40%.
  • Using the slow totem, and the hill to the west for LOS blocking, you should have an easier time killing this group there.
• The archers to the south, near the wooden draw bridge, have a height advantage on you on the hill, so be cautious when retreating since they have extended range. A good way to fight these rangers is to equip a martial weapon and stay in their aggro range: they will prioritise Throw Dirt usage and won't attack.
• Once the gate is lowered, the hero can easily die to just one of the Enchanted Swords/Hammer. You can pull the Ghostly Hero back away from the draw bridge before fighting these mobs.

Slow Totem Behavior

• The hex lasts for 30 seconds.
• Creatures hexed by it will move at 25% of their normal speed.

Cutscene Exploitation Method

1. Nearing the end of the mission, Goss Aleessh ("the mesmer boss") will be with two construct enemies. Your first goal is to kill the mesmer boss and one (only one) of the additional construct enemies that are with him. The other one should be left alive.
   • NOTE: it's important that the mesmer boss is killed in a location that you won't be walking by. It's body won't disappear since it is a boss and it will continue to give you corpse aggro while you do the steps below. I recommend killing the mesmer around the hill located to the west. You can use this hill for Line of Sight obstruction.
   • Alternatively, you can kill the two adds and keep the Mesmer boss alive.
   • Tips for killing the mesmer boss: Keep in mind when killing him whether you have a caster weapon or a martial out will force certain behaviors out of the enemies. A caster weapon will cause the Mesmer Boss to cast Chaos Storm on you. A martial weapon will cause the Ranger to run up and throw dirt on you. Additionally, the mesmer boss will use Ether Feast to heal, so you likely want to keep your energy low (below 50%) to prevent that and to prevent energy burn (below 40%). You can get a +5 energy shield in ascalon (see helpful items) as well as a +5 energy Axe at Amnoon's weapon crafter to keep energy hidden that you can swap back and forth to prevent him from healing.
2. Clear out the area where the slow totem is. If you crossed over the first wooden bridge where the Siege Wurm was, then the first group of 3 Warriors you'll encounter don't fight back if you attack them from range. However, if you used the far wood bridge, then the Warriors will behave normally. In the area with the Slow Totem, there should be 1 priest and a bunch of warriors. Their leash range is short, so you can play on the edge of it quite easily. Also, the priest isn't a part of any of their groups, so pull all groups away from the priest and then kill the priest last.
3. Now that you've got the slow totem, you can drag the last construct enemy to the area where the slow totem was located. This enemy will drop aggro at the bend just before that area. You want to hold aggro as far as possible from the bridge and then drop the slow totem on the enemy. This will hex the enemy with a snare and allow you do what you have to do without it bothering you.
4. Clear out the archers behind the location where the member boss was. There should be 2-3 rangers on each side. Do this without killing the one remaining construct that was a part of the mesmer boss group. If you're finding it too difficult to get behind this one enemy, then try the next using the slow totem in conjunction with corpse aggro from the Mesmer boss to pull it away.
5. The next task is to get the ghostly hero to the raised bridge WITHOUT him ever catching aggro on the last enemy in the Mesmer boss's group. If those two NPCs interact, you can't perform the Cutscene Exploit and you've likely failed the mission. They won't separate until one of them has died. So to ensure that doesn't happen, bring the ghostly hero to the bridge where the first wurm is (which is just before the mesmer boss would be within radar range). Now that he's closer, do the slow totem trick mentioned above and you should have time to run away from that last construct enemy whose part of the Mesmer boss's group, talk to the ghostly hero to make him follow you, and then get him to the bridge.
   • NOTE: There are burrowed enemies to the east area between the first wurm and the bridge that had all the archers. Make sure the pathway you're going to walk with the ghostly hero is safe from spawns before you walk him through it. Fortunately, if you aggro the hero on one of these enemies, you can kill them with the hero since killing these enemies don't trigger the cutscene.
6. Now that the bridge has been lowered, you can step forward on it until you're sandwiched between two pillars and then tell the ghostly hero to stop. Or, you can run the Ghostly Hero back somewhere safe. At this point, 2-3 warrior enemies will approach you at a time. The Enchanted Hammers have Counter Blow, so be wary auto attacking them. Once all those enemies are cleared out, kill the enemy ghostly hero.
7. Now's the time for the trick. This is what all this set up has allowed us to do. Place your ghostly hero on the throne/altar which starts the timer. Then immediately run back to kill that enemy that you've been avoiding this whole time (the 3rd enemy of the Mesmer boss's group). Once you kill it, the cutscene will trigger and your ghostly hero will be next to you instead of on the throne/altar. Wait 10 minutes and you've completed the mission.

Bonding Method

Cast bonds on the Ghostly Hero and protect him all the way through. The elite skill Life Barrier is available in Lornar's Pass (just like Defy Pain) right outside Beacon's Perch.

Maga N/Mo Bonding Build: Dwayna's Kiss, Healing Breeze, Healing Seed, Shielding Hands, Strength of Honor, Life Barrier, Life Bond, Balthazar's Spirit

Bonus

For the bonus, you will want to do the Cutscene Exploitation aforementioned. However, instead of waiting for 10 minutes, you go kill the 3 bosses and their group south of the Fort.

• You can sometimes buy some time for the bonus by pre-killing some Scarab spawns and/or enemies in the first boss's group. To do this, after having killed the enemy Ghostly hero, head south and hug the border of the Fort to make the scarabs spawn and/or try to pull the first boss's group with a flatbow or longbow; then kill some of them from above before they run away.
• Beware that some Forgotten enemies will spawn south (usually south-west of the first boss's group) and/or use the south gate to reach the fort.
• Before attacking a new boss's group, it is advised to make sure the zone is safe from scarabs. Scarabs remove enchantments and transfer conditions.
• The bosses you'll get are random and can be one of the six Prophecies professions, including mesmer (despite the fact you already killed a Forgotten Mesmer boss).
• The bosses and their group have small leash range.
• Note that you will need a build with good damage to deal with the bosses and their group in time.

Video links

Prophecies Only – nightquist W/R
Prophecies Only – Serial W/Mo
Prophecies Only – n0xin W/E
Prophecies Only – nightquist pure R
Prophecies Only – nightquist pure R
Prophecies Only – Serial R/Me
Prophecies Only – Serial Mo/Me
Prophecies Only – Serial Mo/Me
Prophecies Only – Candy N/Me
Prophecies Only – Candy N/Me (with bonus)
Prophecies Only – Serial N/Me
Prophecies Only – nightquist Me/Mo
Prophecies Only – Serial Me/W
Prophecies Only – Invader E/R
Prophecies Only – nightquist pure E
Cross Campaign – Shiburito R
Cross Campaign – nightquist pure P
Cross Campaign – Serial pure P