There have been a fastest chest run and nobody has been running it, it seems

arag · August 19, 2020 at 5:52 PM

So a while ago I went out looking for a faster chest run than what is usually recommanded when you want to go for treasure hunter & lucky title (boreal station, no thanks). I was finishing gwamms on several character of mine and while vanquishing I paid to attention to chests location spawns on different maps. Turns out there was one that sticked out to my eyes as having good spawns for chest running. It's Eternal Grove (explorable area) ; and there is actually a reason for it.

The area can be divided in three main sectors (shown below with yellow borders). Two of which said sectors we will exclude from our for chestrunning because one seems to be affected by the no-chest-near-portal rule and the other one only have 2 rare chest spawns. By taking the right route, you can sweep by most of the possible chest spawns. I indicated them with white circles.

So how fast is it ? Despite my best effort I couldn't prove it's any faster than Pongmei Valley but it's definitely on par with it. It yields roughly an average of 1,2 Chest/min if done correctly, which is the same as Pongmei. I really wanted to prove that this was faster than Pongmei but after making comparative tests the time-difference seems to be irrelevant (with a tiny tiny advantage for Eternal Grove, I like to be right, huh). I actually have recorded most of my tests (check links below). Now, know that I have a lot flaws and tend to be inconsistent during my runs. I'll acknowledge it may have an effect on the result. Still, I believe that even beyond my inconsistencies my tests are reliable enough to prove my point. Tell me if you think otherwise and I'll make more reliable tests or I invite you to do the same.

BUT , and I insist ; even if I am wrong about Eternal Grove being the fastest chest run, there's definitely one advantage it has over Pongmei. It can be done in NM while still counting towards the Treasure Hunter title. Meaning that it's the most efficient chest run if you want to go for treasure hunter AND Lucky titles. What about unlucky title ? Well if you didn't know you shouldn't be bothering about unlucky, because by the time you finish lucky title the unlucky one will have been finished for a long time. I can't think of a way of finishing lucky title first, unless you did only shing jea chest run stuff or stayed forever at 9 rings. (If you only want treasure hunter title, I'm pretty sure the fastest way is farming vaettirs to get golden egg during the associated event - yes I like being right - sorry about that).

I don't know why nobody has ever came up with this chest run because I'm pretty sure there have been a lot of people who would've liked to know about it. It would've saved them some time. I know I was glad I found it when I was doing my title and kind wish I had found it sonner. If you compare it to say, boreal station (which is what, 0,9 or something ?), over thousands of chest the time-difference is somewhat significant (especially that you have to keep running after hitting the 10k chests for lucky points anyway, this reduces the amount of chest or time spent chest running you have to do after treasure hunter by a lot). If it's the fastest chest run in the game, then it is also the fastest kurzick chest run. Pretty sure there are some of you out there that want to chest run those echovald skins. Well, here's the fastest way to do it if it is something you cared about at all. If not, then it is definitely one new chest run you wanna check out.

What about HM ? I must admit Eternal Grove is quite annoying to run in HM ; you need to have perfect SF and IAU management. It becomes far more easy if you have access to Grog stuff so that you don't have to worry about IAU. It's actually as easy as NM if you have cupcake + Grog.

Oh, and also, it seems that eternal grove takes better advantage of pcons usage than pongmei. It's not crazy faster though, something like +0,1 chest/min huh; but when you run through I assure you actually get the feeling of getting chests faster.

Hope this will be useful to anyone. Don't forget double lucky points is live during wayferer's reverie and that it's coming up next week.

So what you guys think ?

Route below is just a general route, it often deviates either to check certain spawns or to actually get the chests. See vids for better understanding.

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Routes & map :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5sh6Z…hDjiunm&index=7 If you want to have a general idea of routes and possible chest spawns location, check this vid

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=…UR-HeXVEF6jU1M8 | If you wanna see slightly more optimized runs, see this playlist ; it contains my pongmei runs too. Keep in mind they're not perfect.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=…WQt5O-ikhDjiunm | Unoptimal Eternal Grove runs

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=…b6Y1i7QcdGUOV_V| Unoptimal Pongmei Valley runs

Agent Chevy · August 19, 2020 at 6:19 PM

Thank you very much for sharing this option. It is not one in my large rotation and I certainly will give your route a shot in the near future.

There is one factor that isn't considered above as it relates to the comparison of chest running at Pongmei, the main reason players chest run at Pongmei is because the chests can drop Max Q8 Swords, Shields, and Foci in NM. With the ability to hit 5 chests in a rather quick run, this does make it the most effective chances of Q8s with a very large variety of skins as it spans both factions and a large variety of Mobs. Q8s cannot drop from the Eternal Grove chests due to the level of the chest is too high, as a result this becomes not an option for this particular purpose.

If chest running for the purpose of title, Pongmei NM is no longer an option, only HM is. This is where your run option in Eternal Grove comes in as an alternative option. I understand that NM is easier, however most players will want to run in HM for higher chances of gold drops at the same time. Other players like myself already have max titles so we would be only after good drops which would make HM the only option. This highly intrigues me for the focus on different skins especially those that drop from Forests, everyone dreams of that ultimate Guardian of the Hunt!

Thanks again for sharing, I will certainly be adding it to my list.

Chevy

Shawty · August 20, 2020 at 2:01 AM

i will be giving this route a go here shortly ^

Agent Chevy · August 20, 2020 at 2:53 AM

This run has my official

I did 5 runs, 1 had 3 chests, 3 had 4 chests, 1 had 5 chests on this rather short path.

In the first run, I got these. The irony is that I was just telling someone recently that awhile back I sold a Q9 Dragon Kamas 15^Stance out of my personal collection for an offer I couldn't refuse but hadn't come across another to replace it...

Then on my 5th Run, I got this, for those that immediately want to know what mods it had, we will just say that it was prettier as an unid....

Thanks again for sharing!

Chevy

Shawty · August 20, 2020 at 4:47 AM

out of curiosity what build did you run with? i've got 150 picks waiting to test this one out

Agent Chevy · August 20, 2020 at 4:53 AM

This is the Sin build I use for all of my running (with the exception of Hell's Precipice).

Due to the amount of knock downs, I do use 3 pointer alcohols for this run.

OwZSg4PTSf6MHQLiIQ0k3lNQ

TongTong · August 20, 2020 at 11:25 AM

Hi there !

Great route, another map to add to my librairy.

I have been trying on a full inventory (~50 items) in HM. He took me slightly more than 1 hour (next one will be faster, lost some times getting used to the map / foes / patterns)

I have been using Chevy's build with some booze (no cupcake coz that's cheating :p)

In my opinion after this first try :

Pros : quick, easy, potentially more GotH (because of the warden)

Cons : use of alcohol, a LOT of armor (16 in 50), can easily be stuck on the first bridge :p

Compare to

Morostav HM : /age is 4-5minutes for a full run, possible plagueborn and shiro'ken chest (platinium)

Morostav NM : possible q8's

Tips : when wardens and oni aggro, try to run into a group of mantids, they will fight.

Quote from Arag

BUT , and I insist ; even if I am wrong about Eternal Grove being the fastest chest run, there's definitely one advantage it has over Pongmei. It can be done in NM while still counting towards the Treasure Hunter title.

Some maps / parts of map can be faster with an average of 2-4 chests in /age 2minutes, some does count for the chests titles, some don't but q8's possible

edit : also got a GotH on my fifth run, coincidence ? :p but as uglier as Chevy's one (q11 tact +58^hex :p) !

arag · August 20, 2020 at 8:20 PM

Hey, thank you all for the feedback, I am pleased to see it is of use to any.

Quote from Agent Chevy

In the first run, I got these. The irony is that I was just telling someone recently that awhile back I sold a Q9 Dragon Kamas 15^Stance out of my personal collection for an offer I couldn't refuse but hadn't come across another to replace it...
Then on my 5th Run, I got this, for those that immediately want to know what mods it had, we will just say that it was prettier as an unid....

I never realized dragon kamas had much value ? I'm pretty sure I merched some 15^50 15^stance and 15^ench I dropped there. I could be misremembering, because I finished my title months ago and stopped chest running shortly after. As for GoTHs, i did drop quite a few of them but iirc none had any decent stats.

Quote from TongTong

Cons : use of alcohol, a LOT of armor (16 in 50), can easily be stuck on the first bridge :p

I kinda recommend death's charge if you don't wanna get blocked on the first bridge, it's also sometimes useful further up on the run. But since you guys are doing it HM it may not make the cut vs Heart of shadow. I must admit I never really paid attention to how many armor I usually drop instead of weapons. I am guessing that's something some ppl may want to take into account for their go-to chest run locations.

Quote from TongTong

Some maps / parts of map can be faster with an average of 2-4 chests in /age 2minutes, some does count for the chests titles, some don't but q8's possible
edit : also got a GotH on my fifth run, coincidence ? :p but as uglier as Chevy's one (q11 tact +58^hex :p) !

Eternal Grove do have that 2-4 chests in less than 3 minutes too, which is why I did multiple runs of 30-40 min each and try to see what these two maps yields on average. I don't know if there are any other chest run spots that can come close to Pongmei/Eternal Grove's average. Also, because of map layout it seemed like Eternal Grove had more potential for /resign optimization than Pongmei, but decision of when to resign is not always that easy to take. Do you guys do any sort of resign optimization or do you always follow the route through and through ?

Red Fireball · August 20, 2020 at 9:09 PM

nice analysis, great run - I'll definitely give it a try shadow of haste seems like a good skill for this run to get the chest and rapidly return to the route and also to cut short the corner top left

TongTong · August 21, 2020 at 12:26 AM

Quote from arag

Eternal Grove do have that 2-4 chests in less than 3 minutes too, which is why I did multiple runs of 30-40 min each and try to see what these two maps yields on average. I don't know if there are any other chest run spots that can come close to Pongmei/Eternal Grove's average. Also, because of map layout it seemed like Eternal Grove had more potential for /resign optimization than Pongmei, but decision of when to resign is not always that easy to take. Do you guys do any sort of resign optimization or do you always follow the route through and through ?

I will need to run more there to have a better idea of the efficiency of the run.

Taking a single run or two is not enough to have a proper idea of it (you can be lucky and have all the chests at the right spot who will not make you loose any time). I think the statisticians will tell you than on average you will need to take the average time on a minimum of 23 samples (runs).

Don't forget also that I experienced it on a HM (which is a bit more complicated, take more time, need to wait a few seconds sometimes to have your reload before the next group of foes etc etc).

What do you mean by resign optimization ?

I understand it two ways :

First : you can rezone at eternal grove (going into the zone, coming back to the city, going again in the zone to have a better spawn after your resign) that you can't do anymore at Pongmei (thanks to the botters that I won't name)

Second : just targetting a specific area into the zone and resigning after (because the next possibles chest locations are far, you will loose another 30 seconds to get to it or any other reasons)

If it's the first option, Pongmei is a pain for that, loosing another 20 seconds just to get into the zone...

If it's the second option, all depends of my mood I will say, where I am running or if I try to target a specific skin.

If one day I'm telling myself that I need to crack on my title, I will target fast runs (2-4 chests in /age 2minutes) (personal record is ~800 chests in one sitting)

If I just want to C&C (chest and chill :p) I will do the full run.

If i want to have a laugh (and sometimes a good drop) I might take a EoE or mark of pain with me (where foes are fighting each other)

arag · August 21, 2020 at 3:58 PM

I haven't done much run in HM and it's definitely slower. It's also true that my sample is probably not big enough, but I remember regularly keeping track of my average when I was doing my title and my recent runs are very close to what I used to have. I opened something like 4000+ chests at eternal grove. I did not exactly keep track of my result, I was just checking the average after every session and it was often around 1,16 in NM without resign management. Sometimes more and rarely less. NM ideed, though.

As for what I call "resign optimization" I mean the second option. For instance if you know that there can only be a max of 5 chests that will spawn on the route you follow, and you already had 3 of them by doing only half the route, then it seems rational to decide to resign because you may have only 1 or 2 chests and that it will take you the other half of the map or more to get them. Meaning that resigning here will help you build a better average. Theoretically at least because you need to take into account the loading time etc... That's what I do on the very first run of this vid :

https://guildwarslegacy.com

I stop at the very first am fah sin boss, that's like halfway through of the Pongmei run. At this point I got 3 chests, and I can only have 2 more with a possibility of getting only one. This is a clear example of what I would call "resign optimization". Sometimes however the decision is not that straightforward. It feels like some chests spawns are more common than others, sometimes you're more than halfway through etc... all that can change your decision of resigning or not.

As for the "portal trick" (the first option, I don't know if this trick has an official name either and I'm pretty sure portal trick usually refers to the shadow step glitch) it can still be done from tanglewood copse instead of boreas. It is currently faster to start from tanglewood for the faster rezone, according to my tests at least. Then again, that's only my sample. I don't know if it is as fast as what it used to be from boreas seabed.

Quote from Red Fireball

nice analysis, great run - I'll definitely give it a try shadow of haste seems like a good skill for this run to get the chest and rapidly return to the route and also to cut short the corner top left

Tell me how your runs go with that skill. It seems annoying to use but there may be some application for it.

TongTong · August 22, 2020 at 12:23 AM

Well, I agree and disagree with you at the same.

I agree with you in a way than it's better to resign half way if you already had 3+ chests, if your only interest is to get the title as fast as possible.

I disagree with you in a way than some people (myself included) don't really care about the title (because we already have it / it's just a matter of time) and so do it for the potential drops.

Resigning halfway Pongmei (starting from Boreas Seabed) will give you : 1 to 2 "basic" chest (yeti/fungal wallow), 0 to 2 plagueborn chests, 0 to 2 am fah chest. Going til the end of the run give you 0 to 1 Jade brotherhood chest, 0 to 2 kurzick chests and 0-1 "basic" chest.

So running an extra 2 to 2.5minutes to potentially drop an echovald/GotH, gothic defender and more is worth it for me.

I never been a huge fan of starting from Tanglewood Copse, or even Maatu Keep for the reason than (at my eyes) kurzick chests are more valuable than luxon's one (luxons sucksons bouuuuuh) even if indeed you can do this "portal trick" (I call it rezone coz you have to re-enter the zone and avoid any confusion with any glitches) in these 2 cities.

I don't really pay attention to the loading time, even if it add an extra 5-10sec in between each run (the time the "your group has resigned" sign appears, click on it, load the city, press X and R, loading the zone).

Also, pongmei is one of the map you can easily check all the potential spots on your way (except maybe the one by the rez near the sin Am fah boss who takes an additional 10 seconds) and you can and will always have 5 chests per run, compare to some maps where I won't necessary check some potential spots because it will add another XX seconds to get there and ruin the path I'm taking or add a probability of me dying).

Quote

It feels like some chests spawns are more common than others, sometimes you're more than halfway through etc... all that can change your decision of resigning or not.

Yes indeed, more foes there is, more chance you have to get a chest.

You have more chance to have a chest where you have 20 foes in your compass, than a single group of 3 foes hanging around (even if it's still possible) and also if you have a boss around

Monk Zan · August 22, 2020 at 7:47 PM

Love this run. Thank you for sharing. What type of damage reduction are you guys using on your shield?

hishard · August 22, 2020 at 7:54 PM

Is it possible to get q8’s from this run nm?

Agent Chevy · August 22, 2020 at 7:59 PM

Quote from hishard

Is it possible to get q8’s from this run nm?

Purple and Gold Q8s are not possible at this location, the chests are too high of a level. Only Canthan chests in Factions can drop Q8s.

This post will have a list of all of the chest types that can drop Q8s

Chests with Q8 Max Drop Possibilities

hishard · August 23, 2020 at 11:42 AM

Thank You Agent Chevy I had little hope for Q8 guardian

Agent Chevy · August 23, 2020 at 1:26 PM

Quote from hishard

Thank You Agent Chevy I had little hope for Q8 guardian

You’re welcome! Pongmei is the option for Q8 Guardians

arag · August 23, 2020 at 5:42 PM

Quote from Monk Zan

Love this run. Thank you for sharing. What type of damage reduction are you guys using on your shield?

I'm using -2 while enchanted, pretty sure that's what everybody is running with. I don't think there is a better option, it doesn't really matter anyway.

Quote from TongTong

I never been a huge fan of starting from Tanglewood Copse, or even Maatu Keep for the reason than (at my eyes) kurzick chests are more valuable than luxon's one (luxons sucksons bouuuuuh) even if indeed you can do this "portal trick" (I call it rezone coz you have to re-enter the zone and avoid any confusion with any glitches) in these 2 cities.
Yes indeed, more foes there is, more chance you have to get a chest.

I didn't know number of foes was the thing that had an influence on a chest spawning or not. Good to know. Also yeah I forgot about chest drops being different on the same map, that definitely makes a difference.

TongTong · August 23, 2020 at 7:20 PM

Quote from arag

I didn't know number of foes was the thing that had an influence on a chest spawning or not. Good to know. Also yeah I forgot about chest drops being different on the same map, that definitely makes a difference.

Well, indrectly.

Chests spawn on foes groups (you will not have a chest randomly spawning in the middle of nowhere without anything around), you are more likely to have a chest when you have 30 mobs around than a single group of 3 enemies, but once again it can happened (like in Pongmei with the groups of 3 foes : 1 island guardian and 2 fungals)

Master Shadowkiller · February 9, 2021 at 9:54 AM

Hello there.

2 days ago I decided to run this one (the shortest path).

My first run was with a Dervish, but is clearly not recommended in HM.

So I took my assassin and take the Chevy's build.

This run is a good one, but my question is : how many purple you got here?

I got a lot of purple in HM, 15-20% more than other runs I do. It's just me with a bad luck or this area is just cursed? Haha

BTW, I get few GoTH, Ornate, Echovalds but only single modds.

Thanks for this chest run.

Alyx Seath · February 9, 2021 at 7:49 PM

Thanks arag, sweet path...already love it after 2 runs :p

Agent Chevy · February 9, 2021 at 8:00 PM

Quote from Master Shadowkiller

Hello there.
2 days ago I decided to run this one (the shortest path).
My first run was with a Dervish, but is clearly not recommended in HM.
So I took my assassin and take the Chevy's build.
This run is a good one, but my question is : how many purple you got here?
I got a lot of purple in HM, 15-20% more than other runs I do. It's just me with a bad luck or this area is just cursed? Haha
BTW, I get few GoTH, Ornate, Echovalds but only single modds.
Thanks for this chest run.

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This is a great run that I have in my rotation thanks to arag . The only difference is that I run the full distance to look for all 5 chests, and have about a 90% chance of finding all 5, the remaining time I will find 4, and this is all done in around 5 minutes which makes it one of the most efficient chest runs outside of Pongmei. I do use a cupcake and alcohol for a smoother run to avoid knockdowns.

The drop rate hasn't been the best for me so far but still promising. My last attempt attempt was 50 runs which is about 225-250 chests and I got one GotT, single mod of course. The Holy Branches are certainly most plentiful item here.

Looks like Alyx Seath got some luck early in his attempts.

Alyx, you revealed what you got for a pie, now what is the filling (mods)?

Alyx Seath · February 9, 2021 at 8:12 PM

Single mod of course

Master Shadowkiller · February 9, 2021 at 8:59 PM

Haha mine yesterday was Q9 Str with +10 lightning. Merched.

I'm only using firewater and no other cons.

3min / run and thats it for me. No luck in ~100 chests atm. All merched.

But gonna try again and again. I just need less purple

gdyb · December 6, 2021 at 1:23 PM

As a returning player that recently started chest running to max the titles this run is def in my top 3 rotation (along with Pongmei HM and Skyway HM)

Using my Derv running the long route like Chevy and usually hit 4-5 chests in under ./age 3mins when I run nm with no heroes and sub 4min with full hero support in hm.