A Light Weekend, Questing July 17th to July 19th

Over the weekend, my questing can be pretty much broken into two rather broad categories: exploring some exotic islands and sewer explorations.  I kicked everything off with a morning slayer run with Cantlin (Level 12 Sorcerer) who ventured out into the exotic jungles of Sorrowdusk Isle.  Later that afternoon, after I got home from work, I took Erdrique (Level 14 Rogue) out to a different island, Ataraxia’s Haven.  Erdrique ventured out to this desert island to run the quest Sykros Jewel.  Erdrique had no problem dealing with the scrag trolls and the duergar who kidnapped Ataraxia, the daughter of Sykros.  Later that night, I joined up with Hellbanisher and we made our way out to the Restless Isles.  While out there, we headed off to the Slavers of the Shrieking Mines and took out the mind flayers and ogre magi who were dominating the native wildmen tribes.  We then started to make our way from the Slavers of the Shrieking Mines to Bring Me the Head of Ghola-Fan when we both lost internet connection.  I eventually made it back on but Hellbanisher had decided to call it a night because he had to work early Saturday morning.  I went ahead and continued on and completed Ghola-fan only I had some difficulty at the end fight when I was hit something pretty brutal, still not quite sure what it was.  In any case, I had to use a resurrection cookie to get back up and to complete the quest.  I called it a night after that run.

Cantlin looking to cook up some ogres in Sorrowdusk Isle. Erdrique dealing with the natural fauna of Ataraxia’s Haven. Erdrique looking for Ataraxia in the Smuggler’s Hollow. Exploring the underwater caverns of the Restless Isles. Hellbanisher and Erdrique dealing with the enemies in the Slavers of the Shrieking Mines.

Erdrique dealing with ogres in Ghola-fan’s compound.

This past Saturday was the third Saturday of the month, so I didn’t get in game, instead spending a date night with my wife.  But I did get on during Sunday and I logged on with my paladin from my premium account, Suppply (Level 9).  I continued to work on his favor gathering and I took him into Freshen the Air on normal, hard, and elite and then I took him out to House Deneith and ran the Depths of Despair on normal and Hard.  I called it a night after those runs.

Suppply destroying the crates in Freshen the Air.

Suppply coming across an earth elemental in the Depths of Despair.

So you can see why I was able to split these runs between exotic islands and sewer plunges :).  Although it was a light weekend, I was able to finish the quests out in two explorer areas and not I get to move more towards the Sands of Menechtarun and those other miscellaneous level 11 quests.  I hope everybody else had a good weekend as well, Thanks for reading and happy hunting!!

Variety is the Name of Game, Quest Runs from February 2nd to February 5

Looking back at my quest runs this week I noticed that the only trend I was able to pick up wast that they were quite varied, spread throughout level ranges and quest difficulties.  I kicked off the week with a Monday morning slayer run with Wapoyei (Level 23 Cleric/Exalted Angel) who is working slowly but diligently through the wilds of The High Road.  Later that afternoon, I logged on with Erdrique (Level 16 Monk) and took him into the ever popular quest, Made to Order on elite.  Being a monk, I was able to dodge the majority of mine traps making this quest significantly easier.  I believe now the only level 11 quest Erdrique still needs to complete are a few in the Necro III chain.  Monday night, while also working with some issues during our digital PNP session, I logged on with Rimuldar (Level 23 Wizard/Magister) and took him into the Spinner of Shadows on Epic Normal.  I had really thought about trying Epic Hard especially since I had both owl bears, my onyx panther, and a favored soul/exalted angel hireling but decided against it because I knew my attention was already being diverted.  As it was I died a few time in there but really didn’t have many issues getting it done.

Wapoyei fighting bears in the High Road.

Rimuldar battling a raksasha lord in the Spinner of Shadows.

Erdrique getting ready to walk the tight rope in Made to Order.

Tuesday I kicked off the day with a slayer run in the heroic version of Gianthold with Sludgge (Level 21 Rogue/Shadowdancer).  Sludgge is currently working on his Stormeye slayers.  After work, I logged on with Hamllin (Level 15 Fighter) and decided to get my revenge on the quest, Dreams of Insanity  The last time I took Hamllin in there he was level 14 and only needed one more rune to activate to complete the quest but all of his gear was destroyed and I had ran out of time to get the quest done.  This time I was successful.  I still managed to get killed at the end switching runes and I still manage to fall from the catwalks a few times but in the end I did finish activating all of the runes.  Time to move on to the next level 11 quest!!  That night, I was scheduled to bring on Containment (Level 6 Cleric), one of my premium account characters.  I logged him in and took out into Kobold Assault on elite.  I had some fun out there with the spell Soundburst.  I then took him out into the Swiped Signet, one of my more hated quests, but I could only open it on normal so it wasn’t much of an issue.  I called it a night after that run.

Sludgge making his way through the Ruins of Gianthold Stormfist Camp.

Containment enjoying how effective his soundburst is in Kobold Assault.

Containment taking on the Quickfoot gang.

As usual, my Wednesday runs were light.  I got a slayer run in with Erdrique who I took into the Sands of Menechtarun to work on his undead slayers.  He is slowly creeping up to 3,000 undead out there.  I called upon Erdrique again that afternoon after work and took him into the quest, Invaders! on elite.  I had a good time in there dealing with all of the flesh render, fire reavers, ice flensers, drow, and of course beholders.  I did get killed at least once when I was hit with a large number of negative levels but overall the quest went smoothly.  I really enjoyed putting beholder in Tombs of Jade :).  Those were the only runs I completed that night as I spent the rest of the night with my wife for our weekly date night.

Erdrique working on those undead slayers in the desert.

Erd staring as the kobolds flee in Invaders!

Ending out on Thursday, I was scheduled to take Kolll (Level 22 Ranger/Shiradi Champion) out int the King’s Forest.  I had some fun running around that area and collecting some more slayers for him.  That afternoon I logged on with Hamllin and decided to do an unusual quest for a mid-day run, Bring Me the Head of Ghola-Fan.  The issue with this particular quest is that it takes a while to complete.  However, since my wife had to work a later shift, I decided I should take advantage of that time and knock it out.  So I took Hamllin through the Restless Isles and into Ghola-fan and had an extremely easy time of it until the end fight when his hireling cleric decided to “lose focus”.  In any case, I got back with a resurrection from the cleric and was able to finish off Ghola-fan and his elite guard.  Later that night, I logged on with Stoorage (Level 11 Fighter), another one of my premium characters, and I took him out into Three Barrel Cove.  Stoorage still needs a few quests out there on elite.  I took him through The Legend of Two-Toed Tobias on elite and then through Ghost of a Chance on normal (elite not available to me yet 😦 ).  Once I made it through Ghost of a Chance I called it a night.

Kolll enjoying a stroll through the King’s Forest.

Hamllin causing havoc on his way to Ghola-fan in the Restless Isles.

Hamllin using patience and range attacks to help him in Ghola-fan’s compound.

Stoorage making his way through the underwater cave of Two-toed Tobias.

Stoorage preparing to battle Brekik in Ghost of a Chance.

So, as you can see I played across quite a variety of characters over a large array of levels and quests.  Erdrique is steadily progressing through his monk life and I’m hoping to hit level 17 soon.  Thanks for reading everybody and I hope everybody also had a fun and adventurous week!!  Happy hunting!!

A Slayer Type Weekend, Questing Runs from January 9th to January 11th

Well, this weekend was primarily highlighted by Erdrique (Level 15 Monk) completing a few explorer areas.  However, it started out on Friday with a slayer run through Sorrowdusk Isle with my paladin Kanndar (Level 11).  Kanndar wracked up a few more slayers before I needed to head out and go to work.  After work, I logged on with Erdrique and took him through the quest, The Church and the Cult on elite.  I didn’t have too many issues in there and it was Erdrique’s last level 9 quest.  Later on Friday night, I took Erdrique into the Red Fens and continued on his slayers out there.  He made a large amount of progress on hitting his 7,500 slayer mark.  I then took him out into the Restless Isles and wracked up some more slayers on the way to the quest, Bring Me the Head of Ghola-Fan.  Once I got to Ghola-Fan’s compound, I entered on elite and ran into one little hiccup where I got pounded by dust in Tako the Killer’s room.  Tako and another were champions and I had trouble controlling them, at first.  However, after using Rise of the Phoenix and getting back into the action I was able to subdue them and continue forward.  I didn’t have any other problems after that.  Once I got through Ghola-fan I called it a night.  Just as a note, I had put up the Restless Isles and Ghola-Fan run in the LFM and didn’t get a single hit.  I also didn’t get a hit with the Church and the Cult :(.

Kanndar dealing with three ogres in the caves of Sorrowdusk Isle.

Erdrique taking notice of a disturbing fountain in the Church and the Cult.

Erd taking his frustration out on Gorger in the Red Fens.

Erdrique hunting in the Restless Isles.

Dealing with cutthroat champions in Ghola-Fan’s compound.

On Saturday, the first thing I did was head back out into the Red Fens with Erdrique.  Using a major slayer count boost, I finally wracked up my 7,500th kill in the Red Fens and received over 35,000 experience for the effort.  I wrote about that here.  I then took Erdrique back out into the Restless Isles.  I was still using a major slayer count potion and the slayer count in that area is only 1,500.  The biggest obstacle to finishing this area is hoping you can encounter the rare wildman, Kaedak, who is hiding in the secret passage that is only accessible buy turning over the horrid figurine from Slavers of the Shrieking Mines to a wildman who opens up the passage.  The secret passage is also an explorer zone.  Well, I did get credit for the explorer zone but was unlucky in finding Kaedak.  So I finished that area, minus that one last rare encounter (same thing happened in Erd’s druid life as well 😦 ).  Since I was on a roll with the slayer zones, I then headed off to Ataraxia’s Haven.  I was still level 14 and I knew that are had a maximum level of 14 for full experience.  Ataraxia’s Haven is a fun zone for me and I knew wracking up the slayers wouldn’t take me long.  After a run or too out there, I then headed off to the Sands of Menechtarun and complete the quest The Chamber of Rahmat on elite.  I didn’t have any real issues in here and progressed through the quest quickly.  After that run I called it a night.

Doing some more hunting in the Red Fens.

Erdrique making some friends in the Restless Isles.

Erdrique enjoying the view in the Haven.

Erdrique enjoying his first trip back into the desert.

Erdrique hunting champions in the Chamber of Rahmat.

On Sunday, I logged Erdrique in once again and took him back out into Ataraxia’s Haven.  He had hit his 750 slayers and at that point he was forced to level 15.  However, he didn’t need much more to hit 1,500, which is the maximum out in the Haven, and only needed four more rare’s to finish off the area.  It took me a few tries but I eventually found the last four rares I needed and at the same time finished up my slayer counts.  Later that night, I logged on with Crawlller (Level 6 Ranger), a character on my premium account, and I had planned on running Bringing the Light from normal to elite and to make my way through some more Harbor and Market quests that I still need to complete.  However, when I tried to pick up the quest, I couldn’t as the quest giver said I “looked like a new adventurer and that I need to talk to Mari Mosshand.”  The only problem with that, is that Mari Mosshand as been gone from the game for a long, long time.  So I submitted a bug report and then headed off to Arachnophobia and then completed the Swiped Signet on normal and hard.  At that point, I called it a night.

Erdrique finally finding Bororo, one of the last rares he needed.

Crawlller preparing to deal with the spider Grudge.

So the real highlights of this weekend was completing three wilderness areas (Red Fens, Ataraxia’s Haven, and Restless Isles-minus the last rare).  Not bad, now I get to focus on the Sands of Menechtarun, one of my favorite explorer zones!!  Thanks for reading everybody and happy hunting!!

The Weekend Quest Runs, July 4th to July 6th

This past weekend’s quest runs, including the July 4th holiday, primarily consisted of running Erdrique (Level 14 Druid) through a few quests and running Sludgge (Level 20 Rogue/Shadowdancer) through Under the Big Top on Epic Normal.

My questing activities started early on the July 4th holiday.  Typically on Fridays, I generally schedule a slayer run with one of my characters prior to heading off to work.  However, since I didn’t have to work because it was a holiday I didn’t set up a solid schedule so I logged on with Erdrique and took him into the Red Fens.  I ran the slayers in the Red Fens twice that afternoon and racked about 36,000 experience when I hit 3,000 kills.  I took break at that point but logged Erdrique back on later that night and took him back into the Red Fens to burn off his slayer boost potion.  I then took Erdrique out to the Restless Isles and made my way to the second flagging quest out there, Bring Me the Head of Ghola-Fan.  I completed Ghola-Fan on elite and only some minor difficulties with the primary trap room because I couldn’t see the spinning blades until after they skewered me.  But besides that, the quest was smooth, although long.  By the time I completed it, I decided to call it a night.

Having some fun in the Red Fens.

Making my way to Ghola-fan’s compound.

Fighting the mystics in Ghola-fan’s compound.

On Saturday, I was only a few thousand experience until being forced to level up to 14 with Erdrique.  So I went out into Ataraxia’s Haven and picked up a quick 7,000 experience then leveled up to 14.  After I leveled up, I then headed out to the Sands of Menechtarun and completed Maraud the Mines and Raid the Vulkoorim, both on elite.  After those runs, I called it a night until Sunday.

Exploring the mines in Ataraxia’s Haven.

Erdrique fighting a pack of gnolls on his way to Maraud the Mines.

Erdrique making his way through the Mines.

Fighting the Vulkoorim Scorrow.

On Sunday night, I logged on with Sludgge.  Sludgge was working on finishing up the House Phiarlan Carnival Series and only needed to completed Under the Big Top.  I entered the quest on Epic Normal and brought forth my onyx panther, a cleric hireling, and my level 17 owlbear.  The quest went fairly smooth overall and the only thing to get killed was me.  It took me a little while to figure out that I was being killed by phantasmal killer.  Evidently I’m lacking a deathblock item with Sludgge but once I figured that out I was able to cast deathward on myself thanks the to the visors from Tangleroot.  The quest went more smooth at that point and I actually got a shard for the Full Plate of the Ring Leader in the end chest.  Once that was done, I had about a half hour before I needed to log out and head to bed so I took Sludgge into the Ruins of Gianthold for some simple slayers.  At that point I called it a night.

Sludgge setting off a bomb in Under the Big Top.

Sludgge hunting the Stormfist in the Gianthold.

The weekend was pretty quite overall.  There wasn’t a whole lot of guildies on and I didn’t get any hits in my LFG for my Saturday runs in the Desert or  for my run in Under the Big Top.  I’m guess it was because I wasn’t doing them with a Bravery Bonus option (I was one level higher for Desert Quests and I ran Under the Big Top on Epic Normal).  But the runs were still good and enjoyable.  I hope everybody else had a good weekend too!!  Thanks for reading everybody and happy hunting!!

Review of the Quest Bring Me the Head of Ghola-Fan

About two weeks ago, I wrote up a blog post about the quest, Slavers of the Shrieking Mines.  Today I want to write about the second flagging quest out in the Restless Isles: Bring Me the Head of Ghola-Fan.  Bring Me the Head of Ghola-Fan is an intriguing quest in that it contains a variety of traps, extremely tough enemies, and a fairly large dungeon/area map.  The quest giver is Mul-Tong, another ogre magi located deep within the Restless Isle exploring zone.  Mul-tong mentions to you how the ogre clan has been split into two factions and how Ghola-fan as allied with a powerful mind flayer.  He excepts your offer to be rid of him in exchange for the fragments need to repair the sigil so that you can enter the The Twilight Forge.

Erdrique approaching Ghola-fan’s compound.

The quest is located inside Ghola-fan’s compound which is also located deep within the Restless Isles, although not very far from Mul-tong’s position.  The picture above is Erdrique (Level 14 Druid) making his way to Ghola-fan’s compound after picking up the quest from Mul-tong.  Ghola-fan’s compound is pretty interesting.  It has an oriental feel to it, having rather large circular doors, and triangular features as well as the same type of artistic items and colors.  Ghola-fan’s compound is teaming with three pimary types of enemies: ogres (of course), bugbears, and worgs.  There are also a few minor enemies, some steel golems and wildment, but the majority of the enemies are three aforementioned.  For the ogres, their are three types: mystics, cuthroats, and brutes.  The mystics are pretty interesting, because besides Ghola-fan, they are the only enemy casters inside the quest.

Erdrique inside the compound.

Erdrique and his little gang fighting the ogres and bugbears in Ghola-fan’s compound.

The compound looks rather large from the outside but looks even larger when you get inside.  The map has a number of branches to it that require a number of crests to unlock some doors.  One thing to keep note, there are only two shrines in this quest, and you will most likely need them.  The first major test within this quest lies within the first branch to the east.  This particular branch takes you to a room that is littered with traps.  Their are four types of traps in this room along a maze: spinning blades, spikes, darts, and large blades.  The most dangerous of these are the spinning blades.  You can navigate past these traps by jumping into the correct voids, however there is a slight issue with trap.  For some reason, after you set the traps off, you can actually see them.  Its kind of hard to avoid spinning blade traps when you can’t see them.  Inevitably, I always die and then I’m always able to see them.

Not liking these spike traps at all.       

These traps are quite elusive until you get killed…ugh…

After this point using a jump, heroism, and fire protection potions will help you get past the spike and dart traps to make your way to the first named ogre in the quest. 

Erdrique making his way past the spike traps.

The next portions of the quest involve primarily basic hand to hand combat.  One thing to keep in mind as you make your way further into the quest is that there will be archers in some portions of the compound who rain down arrows at you.  It is good to take them out with either spells or ranged weapon so that you don’t have fights occurring on multiple fronts.  Cleaning out the first shrine will also give you the key to prisons.  This is one fun aspect to the quest because you get to set loose imprisoned wildmen to fight their ogre captors.

Setting the wildmen free.

The next challenging room is one filled with mystics, including a named.  Each mystic sits upon a trap.  If you enter the room, be prepared to be hit with acid, fire, or force damage.  You are better off to use spells or ranged attacks against the mystics because as a mystic dies, his particular trap disengages. 

Time to take out the mystics.

The final fight then becomes the last major hurdle.  The primary thing to remember is that Ghola-fan is an ogre magi.  If you can, hit him with dot spells before he disappears so that he still takes damage when he phases out and to combat his regeneration.  Take care to watch out for his elite guard, which are bugbears and not ogres ironically.  The elite guard bugbears are extremely tough and they are assassins meaning they like to phase in and out as well. 

This particular quest does take a good amount of time.  Be prepared to suffer at least one death in that trap room, especially if you can’t see the spinning blades.  Overall, the quest is challenging, which makes it fun to me.  There are a couple of things of interest that you can loot in the quest including the Royal Guard Mask.  So if you are up for a long and challenging quest in the level 10 to 14 range, try Bring Me the Head of Ghola-fan.  Thanks for reading everybody and happy hunting!!