Checking Out The Nightmares Within

It's exciting to load into the game and have new content to play, and I certainly was pumped about finally being able to get inside that darned stinky tower in Kessex Hills.

View up inside the Tower of Nightmares.
This is a screenshot, not a cut scene, just more proof that
the artists at ANet are fully awesome.

But pretty soon, TOO soon, I was swearing out loud. Repeatedly. Ferociously. And then resignedly. (Is that a word?)
Apparently, Tower of Nightmares is not something you do solo.
Over and over again, I died. At one point I wondered if I was just woefully undergeared or a bad player or my mouse was dying or something. I couldn't believe how many times I found myself on the ground.
But a quick look around the map showed many blue skulls. I wasn't the only one attempting to solo the place and failing. Yay. (note the non-enthusiasm)
I don't know why I was expecting it to be a walk in the Grove. Seems a bit silly of me now that it's the cold hard light of day. Of course they would make it hard. They're not just going to GIVE you your rewards. You gotta sweat for that ugly scuba mask.

Zerg, zerg, zergitty zerg.

So I did what any self-respecting loner-with-a-cause would do: I joined a Zerg. Together, we staggered and dodged our way through the ToN maze in a ragged pack, led by an uncharacteristically patient Charr named Ulysses S. Gant. My, what an interesting warband we were for him! But he didn't leave anyone behind and successfully got the group up to the top of the tower. Yay! (note the real enthusiasm this time)

Open is my favourite word.

The big chest at the top gave me some Tahlkora's Boots that I'm not even sure I'm going to wear, and some other stuff that I've already completely forgotten about. Oh, maybe a recipe that I sold on the TP. So yeah, great to complete my mission of getting to the top, but not much excitement in the rewards.
Ooh, except for the lovely set of goggles that were lying up there. Donned those and took the heart-lurching plunge aaaaaaaaaaaallllllll the way back down! Super fun!

When I was at the top of the tower, I had a chat with a few players up there. They said that all the chambers, including the final instance at the top, were solo-able. Yeah, so it took me like five seconds to decide to leap through the portal!
I didn't take any pictures of the final instance because I was too busy performing finger-tangling keyboard moves to avoid dying, but I must say it was a pretty intense fight. I was thanking the Six Gods for my phantasms and Sylvari pup, that's for sure. Which makes me think: do Mesmers really ever solo anything? Spiral comes equipped with her own set of henchmen. (Does that bring you back, old-timers from GW1? *grin*)

After my success at the top instance, I went back and tried one of the smaller chambers. It was the same kind of fight, waves of mobs, then a boss, but it was much, much easier than the top instance. Plus I got help from the adorable yet clueless lesbian couple, Kasmeer and Marjory. (No offense intended, of course. I like them. They remind me of Xena and Gabrielle in the early days.)

Anyhoo, I'll probably give the tower another go or two during the rest of its time in Tyria, in between making goofy alts and spending all my gold on Unidentified Dyes. See you in there!