Gma's Guide to Crystal Oasis Masteries

BY: GMAFOG

I am in love with Path of Fire. There are so many fun things to do and lots of challenges to be achieved. However, I am a map completionist at heart and don’t like to leave things half way.  This mentality caused a bit of frustration at the beginning of my Path of Fire adventure. I like to make every effort to map complete as I go through a zone and that is where the problem lies.  In Crystal Oasis, to obtain a few of the masteries, I had to move on to earn my mounts in other zones first. This had become a two-edged sword because I needed the mounts for the masteries and needed the masteries to complete the abilities for the mounts. I did have to make some choices along the way - earn and use my mounts; go back to Heart of Thorns and finish my advanced gliding skills, or find a nice mesmer to port me up. I wanted to complete this map the proper way, without my mesmer friends porting me and found a fun process of events, achievements and running around to do this. So, I basically set up a way to do all three things simultaneously.

As you go through Crystal Oasis, getting the mounts and masteries are definitely a team effort. If you are an awesome fighter, you might be able to do it on your own, but not me. I needed all the help I could get. By clearing the map, doing events, and getting achievements as you go, it will make it easier to move around to the other zones. The raptor abilities: Ravenous Strike, Round Up and Canyon Jumping are mandatory for both mount and mastery insights success.  Until you get to that level and are able to receive your Springer and Skimmer, a couple of the masteries in the Crystal Oasis will not be obtainable unless there is a mesmer around. As you see from my descriptions above, mount and/or gliding skills will be essential for completing mastery insights. I will try to give you my suggested timeline and how to proceed for a level of fun success, instead of frustration and headbanging.

Step 1: Raptor Mount Acquisition

For your first mount, take a level 80 into your Path of Fire story and I suggest going with your friends. You will start in Lion’s Arch, talk to Captain Kiel just east of Western Ward and she will send you over to the airship by Claw Island Portage Waypoint. Finish the Sparking the Flame storyline. This will be where you acquire your raptor mount. Once you go through to the end of your story and gain your raptor mount, all your other characters will also have the raptor. Next, take a look at your hero panel (press H). Go to the bottom button on the left of the hero panel that says “Masteries” and click on Path of Fire. You will probably see a check mark next to Ravenous Strike.  At this point you will need one mastery point and lots of xp to get this ability. No worries I have ideas on how to do this at a comfortable pace.

Step 2: Bay of Elon Mastery Insight and More

From Amnoon waypoint to the west, go for a swim to the easiest mastery in the Oasis. Being you are out there, do whatever event is around and get your point of interest a bit further west.  Swim back east to the south coast at the dock and hop on your raptor and go south to the vista. Turn Directly right as you go up the stairs and jump over to the vista from the planter on the corner. This will all help get that yellow bar of completion so you can use that mastery insight for the Ravenous Strike skill.

Step 3: Amnoon Bazaar Mastery Insight

From the center of Amnoon go east to the Amnoon Bazaar, there is a set of stairs on the left. Ride up the stairs and turn left one more time to another set of stairs. Go to the roof. Turn right and jump to the mastery insight.

Step 4: Events and POIs and Crazy Cooks Mastery Insight.

So on your way over to the cook, there should be a couple of fun events.  Running around collecting Casino Coins, raptor races or the stampede of Choya trying to break down the gates.  From the Amnoon Bazaar Mastery insight you will want to go southwest through the center of town (near the raptor race starting line). Go west out to the dock and turn right - up the stairs into the building and straight ahead down the opposing stairs will be the cook. When you talk to the cook he will tell you to get certain food items and you throw them to him with your #2 skill. You need to be fast because time runs out. My memory of where the foods are is not as good as it used to be. The cook does take the same path each time, but he just asks for different foods each try.  If you accomplish this, you will be known by GmaFog as an awesome cook’s assistant.  At this point she has been trying it for days and having a hard time accomplishing the feat.

You should be close to completing your second skill, Round Up. When you complete that onto the Canyon Jumping ability we go!  Finish all the hearts, POIs and add a few more events in the Oasis.  Once you get the final skill Canyon Jumper, the two trainers for springer and skimmer will be found in the next 2 zones.

Note: I failed to receive enough mastery insight points at this stage. If you have the same problem go back to your Hero panel and look under achievements - Look for things you can do to receive these Mastery Insight points. The Storyline is a good one for this. Once you have them, move on to Step 5. Also the springer and the skimmer will cost a bit of gold to buy. Make sure you have some gold and Trader Contracts, the new currency.

Step 5: Working toward your Springer -

To Open the zone of Desert Highlands, go to Temple of Kormir waypoint. From there travel north through the portal. Go northwest to the heart at Highjump Ranch Waypoint.  You need to find Stable Master Unja and do the heart to get your Springer. When you are finished buy your Springer and port back to Amnoon Waypoint.

Note: at this point you have two mounts. You can go into options and put each of your mounts on a different keystroke so you can just jump on the mount of your choice.

Step 6: Working toward your Skimmer

The skimmer trainer is next.  From Amnoon Waypoint head south and run down the Southern outskirt. Stay on the road to Destiny’s Gorge. Go south into Elon Riverlands. Move south and then west to Skimmer Ranch Waypoint. Talk to Skimmer Trainer Ardra and complete the heart to receive the skimmer. After completing the heart, you may buy the skimmer from her.

Extra Credit: Mastery in Elon Riverlands

If you want to do a big battle, another mastery insight and get your diving goggles on, there is a mastery close by. From Skimmer ranch waypoint go southwest to the big rock. Run counter-clockwise up the rock. You will come to a beam that you need to run up and be ready for a big fight at the top.  Find the closest edge to the mastery and glide over to the rock island.

Step 7: Final Mastery Insights in Oasis

Congratulations! You have managed to get 3 mounts and are ready to get the final mastery insights in Crystal Desert. Don’t be afraid to fight foes, and do events and hearts as you head for the next masteries. It all works toward your training abilities for your mounts.

#1 South corner of the Bay of Elon

From Amnoon Waypoint, go west out to the dock and move south. When you get to the water swim over to the archway on the rock out in the water. Go to the ledge on the right and jump up with your springer. Then get on your skimmer and float to the ledge where the island is. Get back on your springer, after you kill the drakes, and jump up to the mastery insight. Bring a friend as there are some mean drakes in there that you will have to kill as you jump the ledges at the top.

#2 Sifiuri Sand Sea

This is the Mastery that has the 3 choices: make sure you have the advanced Gliding skill, use your Skimmer and move over the quicksand, or find yourself a mesmer! If you don’t have your advanced Gliding, take a jaunt back to Heart of Thorns. It would be prudent to get your own gliding skills as there are many times, when you need to fly away from a fight, it will come in handy.

However, if you have been working through my steps, you will have your skimmer and springer at this point. So, move from Amnoon Waypoint and go north to the quicksand, I find the west edge of the quicksand is the better way to head to the island. Just hold down spacebar to rise yourself onto the rock. Dismount once you are on the rock, get your springer out and jump up to the mastery. Easy peasy.  

Here is another more adventurous way to go for the ones with advanced gliding skills who like to fight and get a few shinies on the way. Hop on your raptor and run from Amnoon waypoint. Head north up the road, go left out of town and around the first pyramid on the left - head west to the bigger pyramid - and walk up the side. Go across to the next pyramid to the top and follow it around to the north east corner and jump up. There is a big battle for a chest up there. After collecting your shinies, turn around and fly off to the northeast onto the top ledge. Follow the ledge around and you can glide to the Mastery Insight.

#3 Teleporter Mastery Insight

From the Sifuri Sand Sea mastery insight, skim over the quicksand and get on your raptor.  Run east over the sand dunes, along the cliffs and dodge over the snakes and sand sharks. The Teleporter Mastery Insight is just to the north. This one reminds me of a musical light game.  First speak to Pahan and turn around. There will be 6 light markers and I suggest you write down the pattern before you get going.  When they flash in a certain order, you need to go and interact with them in the same order. There are 3 rounds of this to acquire the mastery insight. Next to this get your close by vista, hero point and POI to the east of the mastery. There are multiple fights, so you might as well get that first before going for the vista.

#4 Kusini Crossing

This is the final Mastery insight in Crystal Oasis. The picture of my map will lead you where I went.  Go to Destiny’s Gorge Waypoint and move north and then west - I suggest mounting your raptor as you will have to first traverse through the camp and over some ledges on your left. Once you start going into the cave you need to be on your springer and jump up the left side wall using full burst. Once you get to the top keep running left around the corner until you see some more ledges on the right. There are multiple ways you can jump. Turn toward the middle and you will see the mastery insight. Depending on where you are, either jump over or glide over to the mastery and commune.

At this point, I still have some areas of the map to clear, but now that I have my mounts, finishing Crystal Desert will build up my abilities for my other mounts.  I hope you take the time to talk to the NPCs, get all your hearts, POI’s, hero points and do your storyline.  As I said in the beginning, most of these are better to do with friends. Thank you to my friends: Gill, Kitty, Rhynor, and Winterlight for helping me achieve my goal.

Keep your eyes out for the next issue because I will start writing the next articles on Elon Riverlands and Desert Highlands. I see more Mastery Insights in my future!

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