User:Connorthecraftmaster/Connor the Craftmaster's Quest Blog

Foreword
Here are some thoughts on the quests i've tried so far, most of them my first time doing them. I'm documenting them in my quest journal as either "worthwhile" or "duds".

The list below will take you to the specific quest that I reviewed. For now, everything is on a single page.

POWER FORGES
(rewards: 100% PXP capped at 10/20/30 million depending on the dungeon, xp can be interchanged with a writ)

Levels restrictions: 40+ 70+ and 100+

Rating- worthwhile... but only if you have 1-2 people with you

I've done this quest before actually, and while its not the easiest I feel the balance between difficulty and reward is fair enough to pursue. This definitely isn't a solo quest especially if you want to take advantage of the reward as soon as you get to the required level. The drudges and tuskers mixed in with virindi and hollow minions will definitely keep you on your toes and contemplating where you should pick your fights. It isn't a confusing maze, but its not obvious and linear either. The portal flooring through some areas is a very nice effect i've always enjoyed. The option to get a writ instead of experience is cool too, a higher level person was able to help me out and still get what they wanted to pay off their villa, since 30 million for a quest really isn't that much at around level 180. The last room gets pretty crazy.

SWORD BELLENESSE
level restrictions: 100+

Rating- worthwhile (rewards: 100% cap 40 million for handing in the attuned sword. You can also get a shield or silyun or Sanamar, both nice items)

A nice quest, but a bit too much on the easy side for a level 100 character. This is pretty standard fare, just run in, kill the guy and get out. One can simply run past the thinly placed grievvers down to the bottom where the npc is. Kind of bland but definitely worth the reward! I found the shield to be a nice replacement for my alchemist 2hander.

NECKLACE OF ELEMENTAL ADEPTS
level restrictions: 100+

Rating- Dud (rewards: Necklace of 4 minor protects - 45 million note turn in, 7 million for necklace)

I would say this one is way too hard to be worth only 45-52 million. The necklace as an item is a nice reward but it is badly overshadowed by Bonecrunch's charm necklace, which gives you 3 better-than-minor protects, and +50 above armor self VII. I feel the necklace should give you 12-13% for every elemental protect at least.

To explain, the first dungeon is full of viamontian tribunes and Fire adept wizards. The knights aren't too bad, as with proper melee defense one can defeat them reasonably, but the wizards bump up the difficulty scale way too much. By the time you get 1/4th the way through the dungeon you'll have VII item debuffs on your weapon (which you can counter with water of stasis if you wanted), ineptitude for every magic/defense skill, and vulnerabilities that will ensure you get creamed by the knights should they land a hit. It does not matter if you are a mage or melee or ranged, you *will* get creamed in this dungeon in the 100-160 level range. The VII war spells hurt, and having high enough magic defense would mean having a level 200+ character with maximum defense stats, with 100/100 focus/self... thats harsh. (and yes, I tested this with my spec magic D mage)

and if that wasn't bad enough, you still have 2 other dungeons to crawl through after that and from what I gather they are even worse.

The only way I see this quest being feasable is if someone *really* wanted all 4 elemental minors in a necklace, or with a group of at least 3-5 people. Bring some unenchantable weapons, this one is hard and the reward is overshadowed by other quests. I only recommend this one for diehards.

RENEGADE MACE
level restriction: 40+

Rating- worthwhile (100% cap 29 million, 1 writ via olthoi jelly)

This is an excellent quest, but only a very well equipped player would be able to solo this at level 40. The quest is pretty straightforward and does require a little running, but once you reach the dungeon its pretty nice. Lugians and tumeroks greet you but then you come across a barred door; the only thing between you and hundreds of olthoi waiting to tear you apart. You'll have to part with an M note to get into the dungeon, but its well worth the price of admission. Snagging a writ on top of it all isn't to shabby either! Very worthwhile for either a solo 50-70+ or a group of level 40's. Bring the whole family and squash some bugs!

SHIELD OF YANSHI
level restrictions: 100+

Rating- Worthwhile, even when repeated (rewards: shield of yanshi, 45 million xp first time, 30 mill second)

Excellent classic styled quest. This one is actually similar to the sword of Bellenesse where you speak to an npc then run to a nearby underground cave to the west to investigate what is happening. This quest is far better though, in my opinion.

You go in to find that underminers are working against Yanshi. From what I gather from the lore pieces, the idea is to use eaters and knights to drive the olthoi down while underminers dig paths directly to Yanshi, forcing the olthoi to attack and weaken the town's defenses. After bringing the note back you are asked to go into the portal inside the caves to destroy any chance of the olthoi attack by killing the matron that resides within, in addition to dealing with any Viamontian forces that may reside within.

The subtle details of this quest are what really make it stand out. Weapons, shields and bodies of eaters and acid-charred Viamontians are strewn about the floor (you'll notice a severed torso without a head, arms or legs too! Sick!), only lanterns light the way, now left behind by the knights who met their demise. A few eaters remain, kept alive and in place from the leftover meats (and sausage! yum!). Some weapons are strewn about, hinting that some Viamontians were either running in terror or disarmed by the strength of the olthoi horde.

Work your way down and you will eventually hit olthoi territory and then the matron herself.

I think at level 100+ this is very doable solo, but your character will need either pretty good armor (I'd say at least 4x steel tinked) or melee defense. Mages may have a little trouble with this one as the mutilators have high magic resist. I recommend bringing a fellow just to be on the safe side regardless. The matron hits hard, but is defensively weak with only ~600 hp. The shield is pretty nice to have and the experience reward is excellent even for those 30 levels above the portal's restriction.

Overall, I'd recommend this quest to anyone. If you don't need the shield it makes a great gift!

If you happen to have a weeping weapon, they really help against the underminers.

MUKKIR ORB
Level restrictions: Varies, 40-59 60-79 80-99 100+

Rating: Worthwhile (reward varies, max is 33 million)

I think this is kind of a solo quest, as I found the spawns to be reasonably suited to just me. Here, you're simply hired to infiltrate a dig site and obtain notes from a viamontian scholar. Again its a standard quest, but it is a nice when you run through a dungeon then unexpectedly have a change of scenery half way through as the walls and decor become that of facalot before you reach your destination. This is a nice and simple quest, but the level restrictions will make it harder for you to find help should your partner be above or below the level ranges of the lower-tier dungeons.

The mukkir orb is mostly useless unless you really need an item that casts arcane lore VII without a high arcane lore requirement (focus stone is better/stackable), and the weapon tinkering +8 spell does not stack with minor-majors and can only be used on another person. I think the only thing that really bothered me is that you are given coordinates but are not told that the dungeon is nearby to ayan baqur... anyone who doesn't have goarrow or outside help would have to guess where this is closest to. Would be nice to have a non-decal way of seeing where coordinates relate to on the dereth map.

Edit: By the way, I did the 100+ version, I do not know how balanced the difficulty is for the lower quests.

TURSH TOTEM
Level restrictions: Varies, 40+ 60+ 80+ 100+

Rating: Epic Dud (reward: outdated oils that cover sleeves, acting as armor. Tursh totem which transports you to tursh dungeons, and 11-45 million depending on which one you go into)

This quest starts in holtburg from a royal guard named Tirenia near the pathwarden NPC. She gives pretty vague information such as:

"A group of creatures recently assaulted one of the Queen's hidden vaults. The few guards who were able to escape told me that these creatures were after some sort of artifact"

Very weak lore-wise I'd say. At least she gives you the coordinates to the place, which is easily accessible if your guild's mansion already happens to have a Tursh totem, which sends you right to the dungeons for this quest.

This quest is meant for a large fellowship, which is made apparent by the many ghosts among other creatures that cast vulnerabilities, ineptitudes and hard hitting war spells. The creatures in each perspective dungeon are placed (level wise) in such a way that it is literally suicide to go in alone. That isn't the problem though, and I don't mind having to bring some friends with me to complete a quest. However, the reward is very minuscule compared to the challenge this dungeon presents. Even with updated xp rewards, you'll be hard pressed to find people to justify running through a gauntlet of 3 dungeons, packed full of difficult monsters for a measly 45 million experience, especially when there are a multitude of other quests that offer similar rewards for far less effort. If the guild happens to need a tursh totem for the mansion, you're best off just going into the 40+ dungeon as a high level character and just running through, as you get it regardless of which one you go into. The oils (sleeve armor) are horribly outdated and the spells are pathetic for the level-based wield requirements. I did the 80+ one and it has these stats:

Burden 100 AL: 270 Mana renewal V Minor willpower Moderate focus Willpower V Piercing prot V Lore 140 activate Level 80+ to wield

So, the item rewards are pretty much worthless. You're better off just getting ancient armor... it requires the same number of people, the only exception is that you can't just run through those dungeons completely.

Perhaps the biggest problem with this quest is the bottleneck that is created as soon as you enter the dungeon. In order to proceed past the first part of the tursh totem quest dungeon you must first kill enough ghosts (I killed around 30, give or take), in which you will get a message indicating you may enter the portal. This quest is meant for a large group of people, yet the only way to have people help you is to ask everyone ahead of time to kill ghosts in the small first dungeon.

After the first part, assuming you have a large fellowship the rest isn't too bad from a design standpoint. I really enjoyed the later parts of the dungeon where it opens up, and there is a large room with an acid pit, with bridges spanning here and there. This really makes the dungeon feel more 3d than others which might consist of only rat-maze-like-tunnels. Running through the rooms you'll notice grated floors, which is the only thing keeping you from falling into the acid pits below and its a nice effect.

The last part is even better, and though difficult, the dungeon seems to use wall textures and props that I haven't seen before which was very refreshing. I really felt like I was exploring something new instead of just another copy of a dungeon. When you reach the end you'll see a lugian, kill him, grab the shard and turn it into the guard in holtburg.

So, designwise this quest is perfect, but the horridly outdated items, and not-near-enough XP reward boost and the totem itself make this quest not a moderate or major, but an epic dud.

Avoid this quest at all costs. Its pointless in my opinion. If you just want a fancy portal device that may seldom be used, just do yourself a favor and run through the 40+ dungeon.

TEMPLE OF STIRRING SHADOWS
Level restrictions: 80+

Rating: Worthwhile (reward is 15 million xp and a shadow slaying axe, mace and spear). at level 80 this is worth a little more than 50% of experience needed to reach level 81.

Though I'm not a big fan of quests that only have you up against a single monster type, I enjoyed this one. The quest starts with a ghost (shade of Farelaith), a restless spirit who once followed the mukkir, Grael. With his brothers (also followers of Grael) still wandering as soulless shadows, you, an intrepid adventurer are asked to put an end to their suffering and their lives.

The dungeon is actually split up into 3 sections, the drill is the same throughout the entire quest; You go into each, working your way down to the bottom until you find the specter wielding the weapon which Farelaith describes. A portal to the surface is at the end of each dungeon so that you may return the weapon as proof of your deed. You must complete all 3 parts to receive the quest experience reward.

I liked the dungeon from a design standpoint, which made use of particle effects and various expansive rooms which can either benefit or hurt you strategically... you have room to move, but more shadows will be casting at you at once. The difficulty is well-suited for a lone level 80 character, but people with low maximum hp may want to take it slow. The dungeon is dark, so either turning up your monitor's brightness, using skunkvision, or wielding a torch will be of some benefit. The design of the dungeons aren't too complex or too long, as most the paths you can take will eventually lead you to the end, so don't let those 8-way exit rooms intimidate you.

All in all, a good quest. The experience award of course is best right when you hit level 80. My only complaint is the narrow level range this quest is practical for (experience wise). By level 105 or so, you may find the quest length vs reward less valuable.

TEMPLE OF STIRRING SHADOWS
Level restrictions: 126+

Rating: Worthwhile but dungeon is very bland (reward is 75 million XP, which is about 45% of your level at 126, and either a 300 al shield, +10 will house item, or viamont symbol flag casting +10 loyalty)

This quest is *definitely* worth the time invested into it, and the items are a nice, useful bonus as well.

This task is given to you by 3 different NPCS, each explaining that they have heard no report since the armies of Strathelar and Varicci were sent to the area fort Tethana. All instructions point north of Tethana, and as you run and reach a high hilltop, you will notice something strange about the landscape... a big, pitch black blotch of land that does not seem to belong there.

Upon reaching the area you are greeted dozens upon dozens of corpses, both from Viamont and Strathelar forces alike. Surrounding them in huge number are shadows, bearing striking resembalence to those fallen. This is the highlight of the quest I enjoyed most, the place feels like a battleground and you have the entire army of converted shadows trying to murder you as you try to find some kind of evidence as to what happened.

After this point you'll find a log book, keep this and continue to the top of the hill in the center and you will see a portal to a dungeon known as the black spiral. Challenge wise this dungeon is perfect. My character is level 128 and while the shadows weren't too bad, the mukkir posed a problem. I brought a fellow with me and with the help of dispell potions (for the mukkir, which hit very hard when your vulned/imped) we were able to punch our way to the final part; a pit with dozens of shadows and some mukkir sprinkled in. Definitely not a pleasant room to be in... so my partner hands me a tusker island gem and we agree to just run, get the book and portal the hell out. I think this room was meant for a fellowship of 3-4 people, but the rest of the dungeon feels like its meant for 1-2... inconsistent design in my eyes.

about 70 seconds later we both have the items we need and are put forward by 70 million experience.

My biggest issue with this quest is the dungeon, which I feel was lazily designed. I don't like rat maze tunnels, there's nothing to see and everything looks the same. Maybe the designer was intending to disorientate the player... but a few expansive rooms wouldn't have hurt. The only benefit of the tunnels is that it was easy to only fight a few monsters at a time, keeping us from being overwhelmed.

A final note, be certain you go to the right npc, I wanted the shield but didn't pay attention and ended up with the +10 willpower hookable... ah well, i'll definitely be doing this again in 20 days... I might just try to run past everything next time.