Armor. Good looking armor (imo) is rift raid class specific - lvl 50, moria landscape, forochel cloaks if you like the fur, plus lvl 65 / 85 dol guldur raid gear, 85 (I think) Orthank raid gear, 65 Enedwaith raid gear (I forgot the name), 75 dragon armor from trader, and rep items for lvls 115+. Ardent Glorious armor. Glorious Hero's armor — A similar Ascended version but with more vibrant colors. A recipe to make an ascended inscription for crafting weapons with Minstrel's (+ Toughness, + Healing, + Concentration, and + Vitality) stats. Ascended equipment is equipment of Ascended quality. So when you drop it in the forge the game doesn't care about what weapon you put in, only the model that needs to put out. In Guild Wars 2 there is no gear treadmill. For the Mist Champion, see Grymm Svaard. In a similar boat, looking at completing the leystone armor collection for the ascended armor piece, but since leystone armor comes in only Wanderer instead of a small selection of decent stats like Bladed, so it looks like I'm going to end up with 3 full sets of useless trash, which is such a bloody waste. Heck throw in a magi ele or minstrel chrono if. GameStop Moderna Pfizer Johnson & Johnson AstraZeneca Walgreens Best Buy Novavax SpaceX Tesla. This article is about the attribute combination. Zerker, harrier, minstrel, celestial, dragon, ritualist, viper at a minimum in PvE. 1. Is the same true of Marauder's?Plaguedoctor's Armor Recipe Book. Introduction. When I made my own set, I didn't even consider stat swapping as an option since there was no way I was going to pay ~40 g per insignia. — In-game description. “. Double-click to choose a box of ascended armor. 5% difference in stats isn't going to make a huge difference with the type of damage being. Double-click to choose a recipe for crafting gear with the Minstrel's stat combination. Trivia . Ascended trinkets are trinkets ( rings, accessories, and amulets) of Ascended rarity . Choose a light, medium or heavy ascended gloves, with the following prefixes:. Bladed armor refers to a group of armor sets that can be acquired in the Heart of Thorns expansion. Soldier's is a prefix for equipment which focuses on Power, with additional Toughness and Vitality . Zojja's BreastplateThis suit of armor is melded from the helms of the wearer's opponents, a reminder of the battles won. To craft 12 ascended heavy armor sets, at 200g per set (without daily crafting I think it's reasonably accurate, according to the pre-armory cost of ascended armor), you'd need about 2400g to craft all the heavy armor pieces that you'd want. Hey everyone. Note: The recipe sheets for Keeper's and Ventari's armor are obtained as loot. Ascended: 80 Mercenary (Triumphant Ascended Armor) - Armistice Bastion: 3 + 175 + 250 + 2 Requires the skin Triumphant Shinplates. Trivia . On ascended equipment, the prefix is called Ruka's . For ascended Minstrel's armor pieces see here. Ascended armor always needs lvl 500 of the corresponding crafting profession, be it regular crafting or through grandmaster marks and the pvp/wvw/fractal vendors. Recipe: Maklain's Shoulderguard (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Boots (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Coat (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Gauntlets (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Helm (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Legs (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Pauldrons (choice) You can craft ascended minstrel armor from scratch, which is the longest, most expensive option. Nightmare Court. 1 Acquisition. Nov 10, 2023Minstrel's Rarity Ascended Binding Account Bound Value 30 Game link [&AgFtKwEA] External links GW2Efficiency API 76653 “ Used in the crafting of armor. It can be crafted by leatherworkers . doing the daily fractals (tier 4) will get you all daily chests which can drop ascended armor and weapons. If you can get 400 in your weapons craft, you can use a Viper's Orichalcum Imbued Inscription via stat changing link. A recipe to make an ascended insignia for crafting armor with Minstrel's (+Toughness, +Healing, +Boon Duration, and +Vitality) stats. This is relatively similar to the cost of a full set of legendary armor. Unlike other ascended armor components, ascended back items. 10 Pile of Crystalline Dust. Raids. Mistforged Glorious Hero's armor — Requires PvP Rank: 100 and an equivalent Ardent Glorious armor wardrobe skin. I do a bit of raiding and ascended drop like flies there. Release. you can get 2 free sets of ascended armor from the envoy armor collections vol 1 and 2. Each boss can only drop a single type of armor. Wurmslayer's armor. Dragonsblood Weapon Recipe Book. While drawn, a purple aura appears and large musical notes float away from the focus. Magi will also help mitigate the lower Healing Power Giver gives. g. . Armor of Koda. Minstrel's (Requires Heart of. Those chests also have a chance to drop ascended gear boxes, the higher tier Fractals' chest having the higher chance. A recipe to make a Minstrel's Intricate Gossamer Insignia. Acquisition . This article is about the achievement reward. All recipes are discoverable except where a recipe sheet is listed. Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Gauntlets (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Helm (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic Legs (choice) Recipe: Minstrel's Draconic. Breathers aren't required to, you know, breathe underwater; it's entirely cosmetic as far as being underwater is concerned. Ascended item (right) pictured next to an Exotic item (left) with lower stats. Cleric/Minstrel build Berserker/Commander build Both builds require rather hard to acquire equipment, the first one requiring minstrel ascended…Double-click to choose a piece of Ascended armor. The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "medieval minstrel", 10 letters crossword clue. Main Healing Sources: Staff 5 + Staff 3, Pet F2, Celestial Avatar 3/4. Intricate gossamer insignia produce armor in Exotic quality, and their recipes must be purchased or obtained through other methods. NOTE: You cannot use this process to change the stats on ascended trinkets or back pieces. And yet, they require having their own stats and a 7th rune, so you don't lose stats. We go step by step with live examples as we explain how to change stats on ascended weaponand how. Also Firebrand is one of the best designed elite specializations in the game due to its indepth gameplay. Minstrel insignia is extremely expensive, and imo best option - buy set from fractal or pvp vendor. Marauder is a prefix for equipment that focuses on Power and Precision, with additional. For ascended Minstrel's weapons see here. Followers 0. With The Minstrel III: The Bard active I have been inspired by you and would like to learn to play your song. Limit 3 per account. For ascended Minstrel's weapons see here. All Ascended Equipment are only account bound and no piece is soulbound, that means you can "share" your ascended gear with any character, and, in the case of Ascended Armor, only characters can equip them with the equivalent armor weight type. Minstrel is more healing than Harrier. If a recipe sheet is not stated for a given recipe, then the source is the discovery panel of the crafting interface. Two-handed. There is a lot to do (and unlock) before you should worry about specialized armor types (vipers, minstrel's, etc) or ascended armor. )Overview. W4 and W1 is easy as long as you know your class. Master inscriptions are crafted with the rank Master (tier 6) and determine what prefix, and thus attributes, a weapon will be crafted with. Furthermore, ascended equipment is generally account-bound, allowing the player to use the equipment on any character of. 4 + 200 + 250 + 2. + 5 Glob of Ectoplasm. There is an approximate 20% chance of obtaining an exotic armor when using four rare armor. It is only obtainable by players who own the Heart of Thorns expansion. A little bit of well played mesmer with berserker or commanders gear will be far stronger and more fun. Tier 3, it'll be slightly easier to get the Agony Resistance (AR) you need with a couple pieces of ascended armor, but still doable. From all the videos I've watched, Firebrand is considered God tier along with Scourge. Crafting components are combined with an ascended insignia to craft Ascended Illustrious armor. “ Crafted in the style of the famous minstrel, Maklain. Maklain's Minstrel's Inscription 1 Vision Crystal. Discipline (s)Marauder. 1 Acquisition. Monk Runes for your armor all the way, you get those from dungeon vendors. only if you have no access to those at all should you. Harrier is more concentration, so easier to get high boon duration. level. 5. — In-game description. The Mystic Forge is a special crafting station with access points in various locations. Consume all of the above recipes on the appropriate character. Master craftsmans) or obtained from opening certain containers or recipe books. @Sarpan. 87% Boon duration) Boon duration from trinkets Ascended ; 6 Ascended 4-attribute trinkets (Major) Diviner's (This includes an ascended Backpack) 581 (38. Lionguard (Triumphant Ascended Armor) Fort Marriner: Lion's Arch: 4 + 250 + 350 + 3 Requires the skin Triumphant Breastplate. Notes. Tier 3, it'll be slightly easier to get the Agony Resistance (AR) you need with a couple pieces of ascended armor, but still doable. Minstrel's Rarity Ascended Req. Combinations of three attributes can be commonly found in equipment of levels between 52 and 80 for weapons, between 60 and 80 for armor and trinkets, and upgrade components of levels 50, 65, and 80. Requires the mastery Itzel Language . Double-click to choose. Unlock Requiem armor pieces by crafting and completing collections. You get the best of Magi and Minstrel druid, with perma 12 to 17 stack of Might, Regen, Fury, Protection, high uptime of Vigor, plus 66% uptime of Stability with Nature Spirit. Armour of the Osgiliath Song-protector. Meta on both firebrand and renegade in fractals, and also great for open world and PvE. Acquisition[ edit] Crafting. Minstrel's Armor Recipe Book. A trail of musical notes emits from the weapon. They come in several rarities, from Basic (the most common) all the way to Legendary (the rarest and most powerful). This build brings a massive amount of healing, and a wide range of defensive utility including Aegis, Protection, Resistance, Resolution, Stability, heavy condition cleanse, and projectile destruction. Requires Heart of Thorns and Provisions Master 6th tier. Nomad's. + Toughness. "Even in the deepest darkness, there is some light". While you will be provided with an item with the desired stats, it will have been replaced with a generic ascended item that cannot be used as a legendary precursor. It doesn't have any Vitality, though, which is a pretty big problem in a condi-heavy world, so you might want to mix in some Magi or Shaman's gear to bump up your HP a bit. Ascended: 500 1 Deldrimor Steel Axe Blade 1 Small Spiritwood Haft 1 Maklain's Minstrel's Inscription 1 I would recommend crafting Ascended weapons first, get ascended trinkets either from Living Story or just from Laurel Vendor (you may also run Living Story tracks which would let you buy stat selectable trinkets). For ascended Trailblazer's weapons see here. According to datamined content, an item used in an otherwise identical crafting recipe appears to have been named "Gift of the Fractals" prior to final release. . Ardent Glorious armor. raid currency you can trade for ascended armor and weapons (HoT stats). Minstrel's Intricate Gossamer Insignia wants to speak with you ;-)Heavy armor Type Shoulders Defense 127 Set Maklain's armor Skin Illustrious Pauldrons Prefix Minstrel's Rarity Ascended Req. . Contents. While stowed, faint music notes float away from the focus. The Support Druid is a WvW Zerg healing ranger build which can give minor stability to allies, enormous amounts of cleanse, and burst healing. HealMechanist(Engineer) uses a single mace and a single shield for all 7 wings They do need some kind of toughness change, so a 2nd set of armor or trinkets is all you really need. Glorious armor — A simple Exotic version without particle effect or animations. GW2Efficiency. Reward: Minstrel's Intricate Gossamer Insignia. Maklain's armor is an ascended armor set. — In-game description. Healer's Chest of Shoulders. I would however not recommend statswapping to minstrel, the exotic insignias are expensive af. If you're talking about ascended, then I definitely think a heavy armor set is worth it. Minstrel's +40 Toughness +40. Maklain's armor is an ascended armor set. For ascended Giver's trinkets see here. Subsc. Minstrel's; Seraph; Trailblazer's; Vigilant; Viper's; Wanderer's; Path of Fire: Diviner's; Grieving; Harrier's; Marshal's; Plaguedoctor's; End of. Gearing up in Guild Wars 2 is pretty easy, but it can be a little bit overwhelming if you're doing it for the first time. The only two equipment tiers for endgame gear are Exotic and Ascended . Nomad's is a prefix for equipment which focuses on Toughness, with additional Vitality and Healing Power . — In-game description. 100 Icy Runestones. Sorrow's Embrace. Back items are a type of equipment that shares characteristics of both trinkets and armor. 49486. Honor of the Waves. Minstrel's Pearl Speargun. Ascended Armor League Vendor. Fractal, PvP, and WvW ascended vendors will all let you buy gear with a Minstrel option at a much lower cost than crafting them yourself (you do still need 500 crafting for this,. 2 Contained in; 2 Contents; 3 Notes;. Recipes . Ascended equipment. Axe • Dagger • Mace • Pistol • Scepter • Sword. Diviner's Armor Recipe Book. Recommended Posts. — In-game description Contents 1 Acquisition 2 Used in 2. The Minstrel is a golden rooster harp. 2 Contained in; 2 Contents; 3 Notes;. 80. Consume all of the above recipes on the appropriate character. davidchanger • 4 yr. This set has Harrier's stats. That's not even counting runes and sigils. League Armor Vendor. Prefixes. Lesser Vision CrystalDraconic Helm is the exotic heavy head armor crafted by Armorsmiths. This article is about the attribute combination. . Double-click to choose a piece of Ascended armor. Named weapon and armor chests (e. One-handed. The achievement is called Seasons of Dragons. The resulting ascended weapons have a limited selection of stats but can be stat swapped in the. Using a mixture of armor and weapons will result in either an armor or weapon. Discipline. Title: Light in the Darkness. For example, Maklain's Visor is 55g while Zojja's is 44g, and that's just one piece of armor, not 6. While it's a fun set to have as a long-term goal, even if it's about as far from the meta as you can get, I'd hold off on it until you have some extra gold to burn, possibly even waiting until you have ascended armor to convert to Minstrel stats (it always feels bad to me to spend a lot of money on an armor set and have to pay it all again if. Minstrel's Minstrel's Orichalcum Imbued Inscription Maklain's Minstrel's Inscription:. This can be very helpful for multiple reasons especially if you are a new Guild Wars. It is only obtainable by players who own the Path of Fire expansion. Honor of the Waves. Caladbolg Reforged (Knight of the Thorn sub-quest after Heart of Thorns Storyline): Dagger, Scepter, Sword, Shield, Greatsword By obtaining the first, you get a chance to swap. Level 80 ascended breathers are the best available. Ascended weapons, trinkets, and armor has the highest amount of stats you can gain and has infusion slots allowing you to build agony resistance (and even extra stats), making it the best in slot gear. Maklain's Minstrel's Insignia Ascended Crafting Material. Select "Recipe: Wupwup Celestial Insignia" from the list. Once upgraded to one of these two versions, you can upgrade them to the other one as well. This article is about the attribute combination. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Picked up an Ascended amulet using the last mini-guide I put out and hungry for more? Look no further! In this video, I'll go over the best way to get yourse. Double-click to choose a piece of Ascended armor. Menu Search Treasures Items Achievements Skins Professions Traits Specializations Mounts World versus World Items. 4 Does not have the Exalted armor appearance Preview codes. Recipe: Ascended Staff is a container for Ascended Spire recipe sheets. 80. The following prefixes can be selected for the ascended armor piece:. Minstrel's +40 Toughness +40. So if you wanna be a heal tank I recommend you go for either of those stats or mix them up. Mistforged Glorious Hero's armor. Tier 1 & 2 fractals are absolutely fine without a single piece of ascended armor and just getting ascended trinkets. Maklain's weapons . Chose to Defend the Itzel Village. In this video, we learn how to attune and infuse ascended rings in GW2. This is usually the cheapest way to. if you play fractals at all you're better off crafting grandmaster marks and buy stuff with research pages. Ascended gear can be stat-swapped to adjust for any changes to the meta or build-specific desires. - Verdant Brink has stat-select gear for all but the. Requires the mastery Itzel Language . Contents. — In-game description. 5. While you will be provided with an item with the desired stats, it will have been replaced with a generic ascended item that cannot be used as a legendary precursor. Bloodstone Brick (3-5) Empyreal Star (3-5) Dragonite Ingot (3-5) Augur's Stone (0-1) Trivia . — In-game description. Your helpful companion for everything Guild Wars 2 relatedCrafting a chest piece costs around 45g. Double-click to choose a piece of Ascended armor. Minstrel's (Requires Heart of Thorns) +92. minstrel is overkill, you end up doing 10% of. However, you will need. Armour of the Osgiliath Skald. total: (6 * 3) armor + (3 * 3) weapons + (2 * 5) trinkets = 37 freshwater pearls at 10+ gold a piece. TheGlendenstone • 7 yr. Yea ascended drops are quite easy to get. So far I have the armor, and have started to move onto the accessories. One-handed Axe • Dagger • Mace • Pistol • Scepter • Sword Off-hand only Focus • Shield • Torch • Warhorn Two-handed Greatsword • Hammer • Longbow • Rifle • Short bow • StaffThere's basically four ways to get ascended armor: 1: Drops. legendaries second; once I had played a class a while with a "meta" set I learned to appreciate the class/gear/character, and found em worthy of an "ultra-shiney". Get some of that until you can afford your real level 80 gear, or replace with ascended. All recipes are discoverable except where a recipe sheet is listed. Minstrel's +40 Toughness +40. If a recipe sheet is not stated for a given recipe, then the source is the discovery panel of the crafting interface. Ascended Binding Account Bound. One-handed Axe • Dagger • Mace • Pistol • Scepter • Sword Off-hand only Focus • Shield • Torch • Warhorn Two-handed Greatsword • Hammer • Longbow • Rifle • Short bow • StaffDouble-click to choose a piece of ascended armor and receive 5 transmutation charges. Certain exotic weapons can be crafted using certain Mystic Forge recipes . 9074 said:I think I know the answer to this but want to be sure I'm understanding correctly what I've read. Maklain's seems more promising, but requires the same 5 ecto (~80s) plus an exotic minstrel inscription , for a total cost of 66g, also more expensive than making it directly. 2 Recipes for these prefixes can only be learned from recipe sheets. Core. 1 Sold by; 1. I would however not recommend statswapping to minstrel, the exotic insignias are expensive af. [&AgFBEQEA] API. g. *I should also note that I do have. Forgeman. I stat-swapped it, but I don't recommend. 2 Contained in; 2 Contents; 3 Notes;. F. 2 Contained in; 2 Contents; 3 Notes; 4 See also;. A recipe to make a Minstrel's Intricate Gossamer Insignia . For ascended Minstrel's trinkets see here. 2 Contained in; 2 Contents; 3 Notes;. Maklain's weapons are an ascended weapon set and uses the Terracotta Antique weapons skins. Focus • Shield • Torch • Warhorn. Ascended gear isn't some amazing "end game" gear you have to chase. + 5 Glob of Ectoplasm. BEST Equipment and Gear up to date 2022. Then purchase and use each of the six ascended armor piece recipes from the last tab of the master craftsman. Viper's Armor Recipe Book. Ascended, Research Value 1. Basic Elementalist armor provides up to a maximum of 60 armor, 10 extra energy and 2 extra energy recovery . I've taken my minstrel character through quite a few maps and events, it's terrible. Also you get ascended for completing a CM raid boss for the. GAscended. G. Crafting Ascended Armor. October 23, 2015. — In-game description. Hey gamers - here’s my simplified pathway to getting FULL ASCENDED gear in 2022. For the PvP achievement, see PvP Conqueror#Marauder. i. Double-click to choose a piece of Ascended armor . CryptoCleric/Minstrel build Berserker/Commander build Both builds require rather hard to acquire equipment, the first one requiring minstrel ascended…Double-click to choose a piece of Ascended armor. Exotic version without particle effect or animations. GW2. Minstrel's +121 Toughness. Gentt would be so proud of you. 2 Contained in; 2 Contents; 3 Notes;. ; Each Mistforged Hero's weapon can only be bought once the equivalent Hero's weapon has been unlocked through the Hero weapon reward track. Tier 1 & 2 fractals are absolutely fine without a single piece of ascended armor and just getting ascended trinkets. — In-game description. This is a guide to making The Minstrel, a Legendary Focus in Guild Wars 2. Minstrel's Pearl Brazier. Chest of Grandmaster Marks from ranked PvP. Note that all items require ingredients that can only be crafted once per day as these are time-gated refinement recipes. Itzel. 1. For ascended Magi's trinkets see here. Individual parts can be acquired from various boxes. Requires Heart of Thorns and Provisions Master 6th tier. A variety of medium armors. All variants have an Unused upgrade slot. Armour of the Lady's Grace. Heart of the Mists. As far as I remember, Minstrel exotics are available through new living story armor pieces post LS2 as well (either as initial reward for completing it, or later as PvP or WvW. You can buy ascended rings of core stats (ex. Merchant. You have to combine 5 globs of ectoplasm, an anthology of heroes (sold by miyani), the ascended armor piece and the orichalcum. Ascended rings can be upgraded in the Mystic Forge to infused or attuned versions. ago. Use those for armor or weapon pieces when you have enough. That means that you can not use Ascended inscriptions and insignia to change the stats on. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword. Right now, I have full Soldier's rascal exotic armor with 6x rune of the ranger (from the level 80 boost). GSmaniamsmart shows how to craft ascended armor for your ascended gear. Exalted Pants are the exotic light leg armor crafted by Tailors. To answer more broadly, no. Triumphant Hero's Masque: Ascended: 80 Skirmish Supervisor (Triumphant Ascended Armor) ----- Blue Alpine Borderlands Edge of the Mists Eternal Battlegrounds Green Alpine Borderlands Obsidian. Choose a light, medium or heavy ascended helm, with the. 2 Requires Path of Fire 3 Requires recipe sheet for each item 4 Does not have the Emblazoned armor appearance Preview codes . Any standard gold farm + crafting method is gonna get a piece of chest armor in around 3 hours if you're being inefficient. Orichalcum imbued inscriptions produce weapons in Exotic quality, and their recipes must be purchased from a master craftsman . It offers the highest level of stats, and it can be acquired through various means, such as crafting, raiding, and completing collections. Used with exotic inscriptions and insignias to change the stats on ascended weapons and armor in the Mystic Forge. Armor items are purchased with WvW Skirmish Claim Tickets. Ardent Glorious armor. Exalted armor is Exotic light armor available through crafting by tailors . Primary article: Ascended equipment See also: Ascended armor#List of ascended armor. Defender's armor is an ascended armor set. All equipment that exists at this tier requires level 80. This build gives alacrity and protection when stacking on the group, but works as a kiter as well because of its ability. For ascended Magi's weapons see here. Show base ingredients. A Firebrand support build for raids and fractals, providing permanent Quickness and high Fury and Might uptime. Instead, the recipes are left for the players to discover and follow manually. ago. There's something bittersweet about the way it smells - like clashing swords and sweaty palms. Don’t waste any strike currency or fractal currency over trinkets. Attribute combination of an ascended weapon can be changed using the Mystic Forge by replacing it with a new item of. All cost 10-20 gold a piece. Dagger and /warhorn /focus, or /dagger, based on personal preference. I'd recommend just go get the Karma exotix 80 Berserk armor from Orr. 1 Acquisition. Double-click and choose which Ascended Staff recipe to receive. 2 Crafting 1. For the ship from Sea of Sorrows, see Nomad (ship). Crafting Ascended Armor is the most straightforward way to obtain it. Mistforged Triumphant Hero's armor is a level 80, WvW -exclusive Ascended or Legendary armor set available to players with a high WvW rank. Ascended gear is a good start, but exotics are fine as well (unless you plan to play higher fractals). Warning: All upgrades will be lost. Armour of the Wandering Bard. Chose to Attack the Mordrem at Their Staging Area. 1) Use rewards (ascended shards of glory, grandmaster marks) which I have gained from PvP and WvW to get ascended armor pieces, 2) Push crafting a bit to be able to craft pieces for me, and save PvP/WvW. The only one I have found is the Minstrel Icebrood Horn backpack. Story Instance: "The Jungle Provides". — In-game description. We explain in detail how to get STAT SELECTABLE Ascended Armor, Ascended Weapons. Glorious Hero's armor — A similar. 1 Acquisition. Variations with crafted insignia require the following. Recipe Book: Grandmaster Craftsman's Components. Other armor bonuses are available on top of these basic stats either as an attribute bonus, an insignia, or a rune . All ascended weapons come with a single infusion slot when they are one-handed or off-hand, and two when they are two-handed or aquatic. I am trying to get a full set of minstrel gear. Choose to go with Tizlak to attack the Mordrem Guard at their staging area before they can attack the Itzel village. 29 variations of each armor piece are possible, and their recipes must be purchased from a master armorsmith . Acquisition[ edit] Bioluminescence. Double-click to choose a piece of Ascended armor . in most cases the ultra-shiney required a complete overhaul of my pre-existing fashion. Hi all, I'm getting ready to gear my ranger with Ascended gear and could use some advice please.