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Crystal Caverns 38-40

Started by Hecklerkoch, October 30, 2004, 02:20:18 PM

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Hecklerkoch

Just dinged 40 last night and for those of you looking for something possibly different for L38 & L39, I'd recommend Crystal Caverns. There's another post in here briefly describing CC so, hopefully, I won't tread the same ground (to much :)).

Pros
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- Very good xp and loot. Was getting 60% of a blue per at 38 (Ry'Gorrs) and close to 50% of a blue per (Spiders/Terrors) at 39. Loot varies: for Orcs was avg 1.5pp cash, some 2-5pp gems, various pieces of velium, and velium weaps. For Terrors about 1-2pp cash. For spiders tons of crystalline silk (for Thurgadin gate potion) and occasionally a Crystalline Silk Net (2 charges Ensaring Roots which is, unlike what some have posted, a Root with dmg not a Snare).
- Spent 2 days there and other than a 66 Cleric who was farming Velium (when she wasn't saving my butt and temping me :)) and a couple here and there, I was pretty much by myself (that's a good news bad news sometimes).
- No shortage of mobs.

Cons (again some of this is covered elsewhere)
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- CAN NOT Bind here. Closest bind is either PoK then take GD stone or Thurgadin, if you have a caster to bind you NO SB. I STRONGLY suggest if you're in any doubt run for the Coldains. Getting back here can be interesting naked and unless you have a friend/guildy who's a Cleric you can forget about convincing somebody to come Rez you.
- Unless you've done some SERIOUS Ry'Gorr killing you CAN NOT shop here. I did all of 38 on Orcs and was still Dubious to the Coldain folks. This caused me to have to leave a lot of stuff rotting because I filled up my bank (my stupidity here, DID NOT have a single bag in bank :() and filled up my inventory. You can Bank here so that helps.
- If you can't handle multiples, 2 sometimes 3-4, don't think about it or learn how to use the Coldain (even though they don't like you they like the mobs in here less :)) to kill adds (see below).
- Indoor zone - NO SoW.
- I had a couple instances of people training me. I believe both times something saw through invis and they just kept running to the Coldain Town. Best to keep your eyes open and if you suddenly see a bunch of big uglys heading your way, run to your Coldain buddys.
- Getting to where I hunted is not tremendously tough IF you have a Lev,  SoW, and Invis when you zone in. If you plan on just dungeon crawling through all the Orcs don't need the Lev or Invis.

Details
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I bound in PoK and used the GD stone. With SoW on I just ran thru GD and EW to the Fort. There are plenty of places for maps on how to get inside but I will CAUTION you here - the gate you need to open to access the CC zone in crystal seems VERY tough to open using "U". The 1st time I ran in, with lots of Orcs trailing, I hit "U" about 10 times and the gate didn't open. Think part of that is my trying to open it while 5 Orcs were using my head for a bongo. Anyway, the next time I just clicked it, ran in to the crystal, and clicked the crystal.

As I said, I hunted near the Coldain town so I had an Invis potion (Cloudy Potion available from potion vendors for about 12pp), clicked it when I zoned in, and proceeded. After zoning in run down the tunnel a little until you see the bright blue ice textures. Turn right and drop down that area (you did remember to have a Lev on right? :)). Once at the bottom there's only 1 way out so go out and right, you're now heading to the Coldain town. Run down that tunnel a little and the textures will change from rock to ice, at a little ramp up. I set up in the rock texture area near that ramp.

From here there's a pop on the right (as you face back the way you came), usually a Watchman and occasionally a named Samsn somebody-or-other. There's a bunch of Miners that will roam down this tunnel, including going to the bottom of the ice ramp. There's also a lot of Orcs back the way you came. I'd suggest getting the feel for the battle and possible adds then roaming out (away from the ramp) and getting used to what's where. I'd also suggest, before you get set up and hunt, you go up the ice ramp and continue until you find the Coldain town. No sense waiting until you have 4 things beating on you to suddenly decide it's a nice day to stroll through Coldainville.

Now just hunt. The area, at the bottom of your drop in, has 3 mobs it also has, on a bridge right above the bottom, a named - Rixact, that will aggro if you go in, he wasn't terribly hard but 9 out of 10 times you'll also get the Watchman that stands next to him. Should you get in any trouble just run, do not walk, to the Coldain town, they'll be more than happy to dispose of your trash (depending on your health when you run I'd suggest running completely through town to make sure ALL those folks, lol and I do mean all, get a crack at your pursuers). Also note, except for the 1st 30 minutes here I was operating WITHOUT SoW, so when I say run I mean your normal everyday type not super-speed. Once you've filled every available slot and banked a couple hundred pieces of velium, you should be L39. You did remember to buy your spells ahead of time and keep them in the bank right? :)

At 39 I moved to spiders. Again, with a good map, you'll see the "broken bridge", that's where you're heading.  Coming out of the Coldain town you'll follow a tunnel that opens into a cavern with a little pond/lake in it and a bridge in the middle. As you enter that area there's a Stalag Terror left, occasionally a mob on the right, and 3 Terrors on the other side. If you stay in the middle none of this will aggro you or you could just kill them since your L39 pet, with haste and its new proc will pretty much tear through them. Be careful if you decide to pull the Terrors across the water, you will most likely get the 2 terrors standing on either side of the doorway out the other side and, should they decide swimming thru the pond is the best way to get to you, you will likely get a Crystal something fish from the water. If you don't want to mess with that just stay in the middle of the path and go to the bridge.

The bridge IS jumpable but, based on my jump skills, I only made it 60% of the time by jumping from the actual bridge itself. Instead I got up on the bridge railings and ran up them and jumped, 100% using this method. Once over the bridge just keep going and you'll cross the "Rib Bridge" (you'll know it when you see it), go around a corner, and come to an area with steps leading up. Go up the steps slowly and you'll see a Stalag Terror at the end of this hallway on each side. You CAN NOT get past them (without Invis anyway). You CAN pull them single however, just stand as close as you can, left or right, and still hit them with a spell. Once both of them are dead proceed down the hallway. Careful though, at the end there's 2 sets of steps, one left one right, and a little pond in the middle of them. You can go straight, fall into that pond, and then kill the Crystal fish that jumps you or you can take one of the sets of stairs and avoid that.

Once you're at the bottom of the steps you'll see 3 tunnels in front of you. The leftmost tunnel is Stalag-ville (including if you could get deep enough some named with decent drops, didn't try them so don't know a thing about them). The middle tunnel is Spidey-town (again way back in there are named and Queen Drachnia I think it is, I didn't mess with them they didn't mess with me). The right tunnel is, once you see that 40 next to your name, your escape route, it's also Geonid-burg and as long as you haven't hunted them they're indiff. Now for the great spider wipeout.

I set my pet near the little pond with /pet guard here. Where you fight IS important here. These things all run and depending on where they begin their run you can end up with some of their friends taking offense to you kicking the snot outta one of their buddies. I tried to fight them so I was about in the middle of the area just in front of the pond. 90% of the time when they ran from there they'd try to get up the righthand (as you face back toward Coldain town) stairs and I had time to kill them before they aggro'd the Terror at the top. If you get too close to the top of the stairs leading to Spider tunnel, you'll often get another spider, or more, that roams the tunnel. If you get too far to the right (as you face into the tunnel) they'll run up the stairs to the Terror on the other side. Best thing to do is position your self while fighting a couple different places and see their pathing.

Now for hunting. If you ease up to the stairs leading into the tunnel, you'll see 2 spiders, one on either side, lurking under little alcoves next to the stairs. I NEVER found a way to get only 1. By the time you ease up to the point you can target one and cast on it, they aggro. Knowing that just plan on 2. If you watch the tunnel you'll see there are a number of spiders that roam back and forth. They're usually separate but when they aren't, if you wait, one will move off. Mostly everything here is a Crystal Crawler, which drop lots of Crystalline Silk and, rarely (I got 5 hunting a whole lvl) a Crystalline Silk Net. There's also a Crystal Webmaster that didn't drop anything special for me and wasn't really any tougher than the Crawlers with the exception he seems to resist Drowsy a lot more than they did. Now just wander back and forth down the tunnel pulling at will. Watch once all the roamers and the 2 by the steps spawn or you can end up with quite a party. If you do, remember Coldain are your friends and you CAN make it all the way back to the town without SoW.

For spells I used 2 Poison DoTs and Drowsy. Strange but poison landed almost 99% of the time even though these guys will hit you with a Velium Poison (30 DD and a small poison DoT). DO NOT waste your time and mana trying to hit them with a cold DD (Ice Spear). I'd say I had success about 15% of the time getting it to land on any of these guys and when it did probably 90% it was for partial dmg. With the spiders and Terrors there's no shortage of mobs although occasionally a shortage of mana )

Set up
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- Except for occasionally having a Temp while doing the Ry'Gorr, I ONLY had my own buffs.
- A bag of bandages. To this point I've spent most of my time starting with 70% hps.
- Pet had my buffs only (again except for an occasional Temp on the Ry'Gorrs).
- My equipment is a little above avg and my weaps are good but not great (Heavy Iron Ulak, Iksar Berserker Club, Progeny Claws, & Staff of Prosperity - depending on what weap skill I was trying to build up). Unbuffed I'm at about 1200 or so HP and around 790 AC.

The long trip home
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Special note here on getting out. Once you're finished just go through the right tunnel (as you face the 3 tunnels), there is 1 Stalag there you can kill then just follow the tunnel up. The Geonids are indiff as long as you haven't killed any in CC or WL. Once you get to the top you'll zone back out to EW. CAUTION! CAUTION! CAUTION! I only came out once so I don't know if I just hit bad timing or if it's true all of the time but, when I zoned out I had some named Coldain and an Orc Emissary waiting for me. I think the Coldain, Rodrick or something, was a rogue as he did piercing dmg but I never let him get behind me so wouldn't swear to that. I will swear he hit me for 3-78s before I even knew he was there. Fortunately I had a pet up and they both aggro'd him. I quickly hit myself with a SoW and ran for dear life. Poor kitty sacrificed himself so that I may live. Again, not sure if these guys are there all the time or not but be prepared for them just in case.

GL and good hunting.

Heck
"It was a woman that drove me to drink and I never wrote to thank her."  -- WC Fields

danaconda

Wow, excellent guide! This zone is so much fun it should be illegal. The cash from this zone is insane for the levels you can hunt it. Hopefully people will follow this guide, as you have done a great service to the community by detailing everything possible!

Just a small piece of advice in case you didn't realize it. You could have had a mule buy 2 bags at a time and you could use the shared bank slot to fill your bank with bags. That's also how you can sell items without having enough faction. If you stay for more than a level I bet you you will be indiff to the coldain or maybe apprehensive, whichever is after dubious that lets you sell. Either way, the velium drops alone will make you one rich beast, so don't wait till 38. Hit this place up earlier. Like 33 or so. I did it with a druid so the killing and downtime were quicker, but the fights were easy enough as it is, so the druid was just extra insurance.

And like you said, if any doubts, let the coldain deal with it. And run all the way through town as the guards are roughly same level as orcs, so they don't kill them all that fast, so you might get hit a few times more than you'd like if you just stop after first set of guards.
Dedlee Beatdown retired
Troll Beastlord of Lanys T'Vyl
(moved onto WoW - Mannoroth server, same name)

Hereki

I have soloed and duoed in here in low 30s.  It was ok, but I felt that Dawnshroud was faster solo; I could be wrong.  I also did most of 36-46 here on my cleric, almost all of that on geonids, and he still isn't KoS.

If you don't have lev, it is possible to bounce down from bridge to bridge.  If you miss, and don't have safefall, expect to go splat at the bottom.  I am not sure if vah shir safefall will be enough to save you.  Nothing on the way in sees invis; I am not sure if anything sees invis at all, but I have never checked with the named spiders or terrors.  Some people just like to train everyone and everywhere.

Only the orcs give you positive Frostone faction, and the outside orcs do as well.

Cold nukes land most of the time, which seems odd to me as well.

The "fish" are velium crawlers; I never got aggro swimming across the broken bridge.

Always zone out invis, until you are high enough to deal with Rodrick.  If you can kill him, loot and equip his dagger for a fight, it's fun :).

Blackcatt

Just a short update. :-) CC is a Hot Zone atm.