Updated: 7 Jan 2013 - Katze's comments incorporated - Please read them too, they are very helpful!
If this is your first time in WotA, you'll only be able to pick from 2 kinds of 'mob' that you can be. As you gain more ranks, you'll be able to pick from more types of mobs.
At rank 2, the Flagbearer becomes available. The Flagbearer is a melee attacker with a speed boost.
At rank 3, the Conjurer becomes available. The Conjurer is a ranged attacker with a debuff that increases damage done to the target.At rank 4, the ??? becomes available. The ??? is a melee attacker with a debuff that massively slows a target.
If you only have Warrior and Wizard, pick 'Wizard' - ranged DPS
The Wizard's advantage over the melee 'Warrior' is that it has a much greater range. Especially on boss mobs that come out at every 5th round, this is crucial.
It's advisable to rebind the 2 skills given to you to your normal 1 & 2 hotkeys on your skillbar.
After you pick a mob, you'll be ported into the centre of the instance.
Katze-licious advice:
It's easy to get turned around and lose your way in WA because everything looks the same. Move your toon close to the north entrance and swing your cam appropriately- you can see which way you're facing by looking at the minimap.
How It Works
WotA is basically a tower defence game. Your character's class does not matter, only the mob you pick.
Large purple arrows point towards the direction of the portal mobs waddle gamely towards. Your goal is to kill them all before they get there.
You start off with 30 'Seals'. Every monster that reaches the portal will reduce the Seals by 1. It doesn't matter if the monster is weak, strong, or elite. The exceptions are the Bosses that waddle out every 5 rounds. Each boss does 15 points worth of damage to the Seals.
When your Seals reach 0 (or negative), the instance ends.As more and more mobs load, what tends to work better is to prioritise killing off the weak mobs. Elites and strongs take much longer to kill, but still do the same amount of damage to the Seals as weak mobs (i.e. 1).
Round 1-4
An instance announcement will be displayed:
E.g. "Alarm: [South] The rift is changing, monsters will appear soon."
This means that monsters are appearing to the south, and going in the directions of the purple arrows towards the portal they want to reach.
Ideally, ranged DPS should be positioned as shown here. This positioning gives you maximum range both on the portal, and if you spin around, on the mobs as they trundle past you, should you fail to kill them all before they walk past.
Round 5 onwards
Mobs will now head towards the end portal from 2 directions. An instance announcement will be displayed:
E.g. "Alarm: [Northeast] [Northwest] The rift is changing, monsters will appear soon."
You will need to split your party to deal with the 2 portals. There are 2 possible kinds of splits.
Short Roads to Portal
Both sets of purple arrows are headed directly towards the Portal, without crossing the centre of the instance.Strategy
Split into 2 teams of 3 members each. One team will take the first location, the other will take the second.
Long & Short Roads to Portal
Long Road: One set of purple arrows is headed towards the Portal, crossing the centre of the instance.
Short Road: One set of purple arrows is headed directly towards the Portal, without crossing the centre of the instance.
Strategy
- Split into 2 teams
- The Short Road team: 4 members, because a shorter road to the Portal means less time to kill.
- The Long Road team should have 2 members, since they have more time to kill the mobs
- After the Short Road team is done with their mobs, they should double back to see if the Long Road team needs help
In the screenshot:
Monsters heading from the Northwest to the Southeast are taking the Long Road.
Monsters are heading from the South to the Southeast are taking the Short Road.
After round 5's spawns are cleared, the round 5 boss will appear. It is extremely important that everyone be waiting at the gate where he spawns, so that DPS can start immediately.
Use your 2nd skill as much as possible. When you have to run to keep up with the boss, which you eventually will, run while the 2nd skill is on CD. Stop when it's almost off CD so you can fire it off again, pelt him with 1 as much as you can, and repeat.The round 5 boss is doable with 6 wizards - you don't need anyone rank 2 and above, though of course, it helps. ;)Rewards- Round 5 and 10 bosses each award 10 soul leaves when killed.
- Round 5 boss awards an Anima: Shelter (claimable from NPC outside the instance, in Bloodskull camp).
- Round 10 boss awards a quest that lets you exchange 30 valor tokens for an Anima: Shelter upgrade item.
- Round 15 and 20 bosses each award 20 soul leaves when killed.
- Round 15 boss awards a quest that lets you exchange 50 valor tokens for an Anima: Shelter upgrade item.
- Achievement for Round 15: Stand Fast
- Achievement for Round 20: The Good Fight
... and that's about it!
Note that each subsequent boss gets harder to kill, and the Round 10 boss miiiiiight be possible with just Wizards, but it's unlikely.
As you get more ranks, and unlock more mob roles, you'll be able to kill more than the Round 5 boss. That goes a bit beyond the basics though, so I won't detail it here.This is where the group I took all these screenies from ended. =)
Happy hunting!