Gloom Seed

There are a few notes about this farm u will need to know before u even can decide if its worth it for u to proceed with reading the rest of what i can only assume will be a lengthy article (since i know it will take me more than just a few minutes to write it....more like a few hours).
1) First off, do u have at least one character that can make it to Ventarii's Refuge (which is the far west section of the Maguuma Jungle) in the Prophecies Campaign? Because u will need to leave from there into Ettin's Back and make a short trip southwest into Reed Bog and then traverse ALL the way thru the bog into The Falls even to GET to where the Traveler is this week. If u have either the Aurora Glade or Bloodstone Fen missions u are in the right ballpark of Ventarii's Refuge, so with a little work southwest or south u can get there.
2) Have u ever even been to the FoW (Fissure of Woe)? If u havent....well then, u are likely going to be one pissed off farmer   , since i am going to outline the running route in the Fissure of Woe that u will need to follow to actually even GET to the Wailing Forest in FoW where u actually farm the seeds and u wont be familiar with the denizens along the way or their placement, so u may have several fail wipes before u even get there
3) There are a few upsides to this though;
>this is the only item from FoW that the Traveler will ever ask of u. The only other time he will ask u to go to "Hell", as it were, will be when he needs Phantom Residue from the Underworld
>if u chose to farm the Seeds u can pretty much guarantee u will end up with 1-4 Obsidian Shards as well as a fair amount of Plant Fibers, which are both high-cost materials (in case u have been living under a rock and didnt know that)
>Bring Lockpicks. There are items from the chests here (and this goes for the Drops here as well) that u can only find here (or in the UW or from the Zaishen Chest)
Knowing this we can proceed to the next section....

For this week u are left with two options to get the Trophies needed for the Traveler.....
You can just buy the damn seeds, which assumes ppl are selling them and through which u will lose an arm and a leg in the process at 3e or more per set, likely more because not everyone has done oris comfortable with FoW.
-or-
Fucking farm them (and keep all of your extremities), which i am going to out-line below. The route to the Wailing Forest, one solo farming build & its equipment and some helpful tactics i will detail at the bottom of this article, thus, in short, if u want to; u will be able to farm them and i actually recommend this route even if u are rich and can just buy them outright for 5 accounts and not give a shit. The reasons being u will get from 5-10 seeds in a single run (so the actual purpose of the farm, that being to get seeds is accomplished), there are alot of good drops here (including Obbi Shards), and its not a bad farm really, once u actually get to the Forest, it may be a bit time consuming but its relatively easy. And if u dont have another way to make money, and am sick of doing shit like Feather Farming, this could be for u, either way its good to know the farm.

The ROUTE to the Wailing Forest
It's a good idea, if u arent familiar with FoW, to wiki the map of FoW and keep it up in the background so that u can refer to it as needed, ironically once u get to the "strait" u are on a path and after taking the left fork u can just loosely follow that path to the Forest
>As soon as u arrive in FoW (solo, yes this is a solo farm) RUN BACK TO THE WALL BEHIND YOU, otherwise u may run the risk of getting Rastigan the Eternal killed and u kicked out of FoW before u even start. By running back to the wall it should (should) ensure that you don't aggro the Shadow Army and get u and/or him killed.
>Now,  run to the right (northeast), staying along the back wall. You will more than likely not aggro the shadow army closest to you on the right (if u are using the build i have outlined below- make sure to cast Storm Chaser it will help you get past them),  after which keep going along the wall and you should just barely miss aggro'ing another small group of 3 Shadow Army.
>After this you'll need to leave the wall and continue to run to the northeast, behind the 3 Shadows and towards a a plateau in between 2 valleys. There are patrols of Shadow Army all over the place coming up, DO NOT aggro them before u are ready to make a "break" for it.
>When u are ready to Run (btw, u will never be ready, there is never a good time) RUN down towards the Shadow Priests and just run through them, there will be a Shadow Beast pop up, fuck him, ignore him, just keep running towards the large Cliff Wall (if u are NOT using an IMS u will likely NOT make it through this part since they will keep following u if u are slow).  
>Once u get to the Cliff Wall. Stop. And as long as there arent any foes up your ass.....go for a piss, have a cigarette, get a drink or whatever. You have earned it (and u are safe for the moment) u are half way there and your toon needs to regain health and energy anyway.
>From here is the hardest part, u will be going due north into that little strait directly in front of u where there are a group of 3 Shadows here which u will almost certainly end up aggro'ing at one point or another. Before u approach them pay attention to the 2 groups of Skeletons below them at the bottom of a short decline (there will be an Ice Hand with them, he will slow hex u (with Deep Freeze), and u will die), then, when u are ready, and when u are ready=when the 2 groups at the bottom of the decline are apart from one another, click your IMS and RUN* through the original group of 3 Shadows and move to your left and start hugging the left wall at the base of the decline there.
{*Just so u know u can also try to aggro the skeletons and bring them into the shadows as they will fight one another. To do this, run towards the skeletons at normal speed. Shoot one and pull them up the incline (use your IMS here). You can also drop Spirits (if u have them), use Summoning Stones (again, if u have them) or bring Heroes (remember to make sure they are dead before u start the actual farm) to act as canon fodder for u so that u can slip by.}
>You can rest again after that (this time dont go afk though), all the while assessing the large group of skeletons u have facing your (about to be taken) northwestern path. It's actually several patrols of skeletons that will split. This part really isnt hard, just slowly (use ur IMS if u need though obviously) move around the patrols of skeletons, stopping when u need to, and moving when u can, generally u will be along the walls. Once you are past that group, you are at the Forest.


Foes
Spirit Shepherds
14 Air Magic, 15 Earth Magic
(Aura of Restoration, Chain Lightning, Iron Mist*, Lightning Strike, Lightning Touch)
[AR:Blunt/Pierceing damage=99, Slashing damage=59**, Cold/Earth/Lightning damage=99, Fire damage=59**]
*once they cast this hex on u u are immune to all damage sources except lightning....but with Stone Striker up all damage u receive is converted to earth damage, which u are immune to since u are immune to all damage sources except lightning....get the point  
**for all intents and purposes this is effectively double base damage
Items dropped-
Gloom Seed  
Obsidian Shard    
Pile of Glittering Dust  
Ruby  
Sapphire  
>Equip your Poisonous Long bow of Enchanting (if u didnt bring this....just resign and save time)
>Keep Storm Chaser and Stone Striker up at all times (this assumes u are using the build i have detailed below).
>Attack from a longbow range (flat bow range is the same as long bow range), so ONLY they can hit you (use this tactic for all groups here, DO NOT get brass balls and try to aggro multiple groups of anything), and spread poison around.
>If you get too close just slowly back up until they stop casting at you.(If you get hexed with Iron Mist you will be immune to all damage until it runs out thanks to Stone Striker).
>Kill them with Burning Arrow (this assumes u are using the build i have detailed below).

Rock Borer Worms
14 Marksmanship*
(Choking Gas, Concussion Shot, Lightning Reflexes, Pin Down, Throw Dirt)
[AR: All damage=60]
*Their attacks have a slightly larger range than a long bow.
Items dropped-
Shadowy Husk  (if u decide to pick these up at all, sell them to a merchant once u get back (60gold/each), they salvage into 12-16 Chitin Fragments which are fucking WORTHLESS)
>Stand back and shoot with your longbow (they will not attack you if you don't use spells or move further than the long bow range). They are easiest to kill.

Spirit Woods
15 Beast Mastery, 15 Wilderness Survival
(Edge of Extinction, Nature's Renewal, Primal Echoes, Troll Unguent)
[AR:Blunt/Pierceing damage=95, Slashing damage=55*, Cold/Earth/Lightning damage=95, Fire damage=55*]
*for all intents and purposes this is effectively double base damage
Items dropped-
Gloom Seed  
Obsidian Shard  
Pile of Glittering Dust  
Spiritwood Plank   (don't knock it, Nicholas will ask for them sooner or later as well)  
> Equip your Flatbow with the Fire & Pruning modifications (if u have one with u), as opposed to the bow with the Enchanting mod that u use vs the Spirit Shepherds
>Keep Storm Chaser and Stone Striker and Armor of Earth up (this assumes u are using the build i have detailed below).
>Spread poison and burning (this assumes u are using the build i have detailed below).
>Once they get around 75% HP they will start to use Troll Unguent, quickly interrupt them with (assuming u are using the build i have detailed below) Savage Shot (or whatever interrupt u have brought with you).

Armored Cave Spiders
(Apply Poison, Called Shot, Healing Spring, Melandru's Resilience* (elite), Savage Shot**)
[AR:Blunt/Piercing/Slashing damage=81,
Cold/Earth/Fire/Lightning damage=111)
*If you put a condition on an Armored Cave Spider, it always uses Melandru's Resilience followed by Healing Spring, which can give u time to cast Troll Unguent if u need to.
**They only use Savage Shot when their target is at low health or uses a spell.
Items dropped-
Corrosive Spider Leg  (if u decide to pick these up at all, sell them to a merchant once u get back (60gold/each), they salvage into 12-16 Chitin Fragments which we should now all know are completely FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFg WORTHLESS)
Obsidian Shard    
Pile of Glittering Dust  
Ruby  
Sapphire  
>They are Pop-Up foes, and they will pop-up when you enter their danger zone.
>Switch to your Shortbow (if you brought one), this is for the purpose of interrupting their Healing Spring (NOTE: this is a TRAP skill, all u have to do is hit them with ANY attack for it to be interrupted, so don't waste your interrupt skill on it) and Apply Poison, and trust me, u want to interrupt them, both of them.
>Keep Storm Chaser and Stone Striker and Armor of Earth up (this assumes u are using the build i have detailed below).
>Stand within melee range so their AI won't try to activate Healing Spring.
>Spam Burning Arrow to degen them (Apply Poison is not needed).
>Interrupt Apply Poison so u will need to use Troll Unguent less.

Skeletal Army
I am not even going to take the time to list these fucking guys out. You won't (shouldn't) be fighting them. To put it simply, when u get to their group hit your running skill and run to your right and hug the stream bank (otherwise u could aggro a Spider pop-up). They lose interest pretty fast and when they do, stop, wait for them to totally fuck off, and then slowly search that area for Spider pop-ups before going after any visible foes.


Builds & Equipment
There are several builds that u can access from the PvX that work here. Like the R/A Whirling Farmer, modified SoS solo builds and many of the Shadow Form builds will work here just as they do anywhere else, keeping in mind the type of foes u will be facing. For everyone's convenience i will insert the link to the PvX site here:

www.gwpvx.com

The build that i use myself i will list in full however. It's an Archived PvX build actually (archived January 2012, because it is reputed to not be as fast as the 'Whirling' or 'Spirit' builds used to farm the Forest). It is still quite effective, and it makes the run to the forest a hell of alot easier for those who arent familiar with the uses of 'Shadow Form' (that's the elite skill in 'Whirling' builds) by Rangers in conjunction with 'Whirling Defense' to use this build rather than one of the other, more complicated builds, on PvX in all likelihood, albeit slower. Proficiency in this build really isnt an issue, as it is pretty straight forward.

Ranger/Elementalist Wailing Forest Farmer
Template Code: OgYUkyrhz8S6WfhAAzG+GHHbVlCA

Attributes
Marksmanship =11 + 1(head gear) + 2(rune)
Wilderness Survival=9 + 1(rune)
Expertise=6 + 1(rune)
Earth Magic=9

Skills
Burning Arrow
Savage Shot
Apply Poison
Troll Unguent
Optional Slot* (I used Dwarven Stability at r10 Deldrimor)
Storm Chaser
Stone Striker
Armor of Earth

Optional Slot
1) Ebon Battle Standard of Honor or "I Am the Strongest!" (for more DPS)
2) Sloth Hunter's Shot (to finish off enemies)
3) Distracting Shot or Disrupting Shot (for another interrupt)
4) Natural Stride or Storm's Embrace (for a secondary running skill)
5) Dwarven Stability to increase duration of storm chaser.


Equipment
The Weapon and Armor listed below are the optimal things u will need, but if u don't have some of this stuff....u simply don't have it. Don't go off and buy special equipment for this farm since its just for the Traveler and only for this week. However, if u like the farm (and this build for it) it's a great way to farm Obsidian Shards and Plant Fibers (since if u salvage the Gloom Seeds u will get 12-16 Plant Fibers from each one), and u will get the occasional Ruby or Sapphire as well, which are as about half good as Ectos just like the Obbi Shards u will get are (if not better depending on the current market price of each) on the markets, generally speaking. Basically get as close as u can with the armor, shield and bows. Below i have also list a "substitute example" as far as the shield and weapons go.

Armor:
1) Any max (70 AR) armor with full Earthbound Insignias.
The Runes (beyond the Marksmanship, Wilderness Survival and Expertise u need for the build itself) that u will want will be the best Vigor rune u can afford (+30, +41 or +50) and a Rune of Purity (Reduces Poison duration on you by 20%)  
2) Any shield with a Shield Handle of Endurance (+45Health while in a stance) with a "Like a Rolling Stone" Inscription (+10 Armor vs. Earth Damage)

Weapons:
1) Poisonous Longbow of Enchanting [Damage +15% while Enchanted or While in a Stance]
2) Sundering Shortbow of Fortitude [Damage +15% while Enchanted or While in a Stance]
3) Fiery Flatbow of Pruning (for 20% damage vs. plants) [Damage +15% while Enchanted or While in a Stance]

Substitute Example
1) Any shield with as close to a +30 on it as possible, if u don't have a +10 vs Earth inscription use any damage reduction one, with the one that gives u -2 damage while in stance being the best.
2) As far as the Longbow situation goes it can be best approximated by using the "Nevermoore Flat Bow" (from typing "/bonus" in the chat box if u have the bonus mission pack)
Upgraded it with as close to an 'Enchantments last 20% longer' bow grip (or use whatever u have with that mod and then switch back and forth between it and the bow when u need to cast, and give the bow the best fortitude mod u have atm). The Nevermoore  bow already has a 15^50, so thats close enough.
3) Unfortunetly u can have only ONE Nevermoore bow at a time and this is where u run into problems right? WRONG! You can't CREATE another one while one is in your inventory. So go to your chest after u have crated the 1st one, put it in the chest and type /bonus again, and u should be able to do it again, if not, for whatever reason (like u are fucking up "/bnus" or "/bons" or "/onus or whatever) just give the first one to a hero, then kick them and then do it again and add the hero, they will have the second bow, and u can steal it back from them and kick their bowless ass back out of your party of one. Problem solved.
To get the Fire damage however u will need to use the Conflagration spirit from Wilderness Survivals skills, because...  no, u cant use Kindle Arrows with Apply Poison because its also a preparation, and u can only have one preparation active at one time, the second cast one will cancel the first one (btw this is also true for weapon spells, stances and glyphs. Yes its true and yeah, it sucks but what can u do). And it's a bad idea to just try Poison Tip Signet in Apply Poison's place, simply stated: you need to spread poison around too often for it and its a 1 second cast time, every time, u cant just let that second go by with no attack from u every other second. Get it?
Also, a Flat bow has a better Rate of Fire (Attack Interval) by far than a Longbow (actually sharing  the same Attack Interval as a Shortbow), however, with a Flatbow u will miss anything that is moving or moves due to it having a drastically long Flight Time
4) For the Shortbow, use any Short or Recurve bow u may have, getting as close to the +15% while in a Stance or a +15% while Enchanted as u can (u can use a 15^50 , depending on what u have, to a similar effect).
Similarly, get as close to a +30 and a 20/20 as u can
If u have the choice between a Short or Recurve bow, take the Short Bow. Even though a Recurve bow is better for interrupts because arrows fired from it have a shorter flight time than any other bow, their Rate of Fire (Attack Interval) is slower than a Short bow, and u are interrupting a trap AND a skill, and a fast trap at that. So, for your purposes here, a Short Bow is better.  


And that's about all i have on farming Gloom Seeds (or Obbi Shards for that matter).
So, if u are still awake after reading and researching all this crap......
Good Luck, Have Fun and Good Farming,
Atty