Tanking the Gatekeeper (Secret World)

TANKING THE GATEKEEPER IN THE SECRET WORLD

This has the potential to be your most aggravating mission in TSW, but don't give up. The right deck and practice and a few other important factors will mean success. It's important to do this mission if you want to be able to obtain purple gear and weapons in the Nightmare dungeons. You can't enter Nightmares until you've succeeded.

First, complete all the Normal instance dungeons, then all the Elites. As soon as you've done your last Elite, you can proceed to the Gatekeeper. You can find him outside the exit of the Elite dungeons. If you don't go there immediately (or you have to leave and come back later), go to Agartha. Walk ahead past the Stationmaster as if you're going to Kingsmouth, but don't go straight into the speed tunnel (that's what I call them) that takes you to KM. Instead, turn slightly left and you will see another speed tunnel. Take that one. It takes you to an empty-looking Agartha area, and take the speed tunnel in front of you and you'll find the Gatekeeper.

You will die a lot until you get the rhythm, and even then you will probably die a lot. This is a test to see if you're ready to do the Nightmare dungeons, but it's very specific, and your regular Build probably won't work. You will see 3 ways to battle: as a DPS, Tank or Healer. As long as you pass one, you can open Nightmares.

I did the Tank option, which is the middle one (Fortitudo) so that's what my build is based on. Some people are able to complete this quest in 20 or less tries, and good for them! I was not, it took me a lot longer until I finally got this build below (and a lot of practice and timing). I probably re-configured my deck 20 times, lol. Once I had this one, it took me just a couple tries, while I got used to the flow of it. Please be sure to check out the important hints underneath, though.

TANKING THE GATEKEEPER

Weapons Used: Chaos and Blades (Auxillary, Chainsaw)
Talismans Used: ALL Tank-specific Q10 blues, to maximize health, with the exception of 1 q10 green DPS Major (only because I had no other Tank talismans)
Health Points(HP): 12,500
Potions/Boosts Used: 1 Energy-Barrier, Level 10 (in Phase 3); Pure Anima Health Boost (gives you about 900 extra HP)

ACTIVES:
1.Chaotic Pull (Chaos)
2.Stunning Swirl (Blades)
3.Martial Discipline (Blades)
4.Point of Harmony (Blades)
5.Crimson Theatre (Blades)
6.Escalation (Chaos)
7.Mass Provocation (Chaos)
AUX ACTIVE: Diamond Grit (Chainsaw)

PASSIVES:
1.Agitator
2.Intensity
3.Regeneration
4.Resilient Defender
5.Turbulence
6.____(Open-I forgot to replace Destiny Fulfilled when I removed Destiny to use Point of Harmony, so you can insert a Passive here that you think is best)
7.Prodigal
AUX PASSIVE: No Love Lost (Chainsaw)

You will mostly be pounding Escalation and Crimson Theater. I made sure Mass Provocation was good to go when, in Phase 3, the 5 or 6 little friends of his show up and required Aoe and a lot of pull. You have to keep them away from YOUR little friend.

I changed my build, I swear about 20 times. Well, good learning lesson. Here are some important things you'll need to know.

1. Health
You're going to need as much HP as you can muster. Particularly at the end of the fight, in Phase 3, my health was dropping like a stone in spite of Passives and Actives attempted. Reportedly, the only Active health options that work are the percentage-based ones (Point of Harmony, Karma). I didn't have luck with Karma (Chaos) but POH really helped.
I also used an Energy Potion (BARRIER) but held it until Phase 3. This saved my butt after sometimes getting seconds away from success only to peter out to 0 health. With POH and barrier, I still had 6K health when the fight ended.
I also used a Pure Anima Health (available in the store) to give you an hour of +900 health since I was missing one Tank Talisman.

2. The Gaia Fury
You simply have to use interrupts to defeat GK. You also have to time it right. There are not many interrupts to choose from and you will need at least 2, but it's the only thing that will save you from being one-shotted during his special Gaia Fury spell. This occurs when he is at around 40K and 25K health, but you will be able to see him getting ready to cast it. Big orange balls coming out of his hands.
Be sure, however, to check your graphics settings. My computer isn't tip-top, and I had my settings on Low which resulted in me not being able to see it. I find it difficult to watch his cast bar, which is a personal problem, lol. Anyhow make sure your graphics are high enough and you can see the cast bar (if you watch that).
The two interrupts I used were
1.Chaotic Pull (Chaos)
2.Stunning Swirl (Blades)
Be sure to time it right! He will cast those 2 Gaia spells and if they're in cooldown or you timed it wrong, you're dead.

Note: By the way, I tried some of the other interrupts without success. That could be because of my (getting old) computer, lag, or bad timing, but I have to say these two worked very reliably.

3. Stay out of the attack!
He will toss 3 one-shot kills at you during Phase 1, all you need to do is time it right and jump out of it (even behind him). He will also toss a couple more of these at you in between/after interrupted Gaia Fury spells, so be ready, even though you are floating in joy at having interrupted successfully, don't get too distracted!

I personally just stayed very close to the Gatekeeper in Phases 1-2, I think this might have caught me some extra damage but it was so much easier to avoid those Aoes.

4. Say hello to your little friend
Your primary goal is to also make sure Your Friend (NPC-DPS who spawns for the fight) is BEHIND the Gatekeeper at all times! So keep grabbing the Gatekeeper's attention, and turn him away from your NPC DPS friend. Sometimes, the DPS will do dumb little moves like he's asking for death, so you have to keep an eye on him at all times and try to keep him alive. He dies, you die, and it all starts over. (It's a Tank test!)
There were a lot of times I was so focused on perfect timing to use my interrupt that I failed to notice the NPC was behind me and we died. It's definitely a multi-tasking test.

Even if you use this or another build, it doesn't guarantee your fast success. This really is a test of timing, smart movements, some luck, using the right abilities at the right times. I tend to blow off the 20-something kids on the forums who say it's easy or you shouldn't be in Nightmares at all, it's still a challenge but it's a good one. It's NOT easy and you're probably going to die a lot. There were times it seemed to glitch, or I possibly just lagged, and that was the most frustrating. Hang in! It really is possible, I'm a middle-aged menopausal woman and I managed it after a lot of learning (i.e. Death and Re-Building). You will feel really good when you succeed.