"Does anyone have a BH portal?"
"Anyone have subway?"
"I need Crater!"
"ISO: Uninscribed Hoary, have Shards!"
The continuous dull roar of the crowd permeated the atmosphere around the Ayan Baqur Lifstone as usual, adventurers of every race and discipline requesting portals, shouting out their wares, or idly chatting with friends. The press of bodies is uncomfortable, and even with the ocean a five minute walk away, the air is stifling. Too crowded for comfort, too convenient to relocate...
I hate this place.
Working my way though the crowd, I proceeded to make my way past the swirling vortex of the Baishi Portal, down the hillside and to the next rise. I reached the crest of the hill and inhaled deeply as the fresh ocean breeze washed over me, a relief from the stagnant air of the swamps and crowds. My smile broadened further as I spotted my fiance lounging on the hillside, examining his Smouldering Atlan Claw.
"You know, those things don't require maintenence...why do you even bother looking over it?"
"You are the color in my existence. Without you life is a dull, meaningless thing."
I smiled wryly, he must have a huge tome of smooth and witty comments somwhere hidden among his various packs. I relaxed into his arms as we shared a warm embrace and settled down on the hillside to quietly wait out the duration of the early evening. As the brightest of the evening stars began to appear, we got up and prepared for out sortie to the Obsidian Plains. After a short period of buffing, we stepped though a summoned portal and arrived at the Black Spawn Den on the Plains. The moment I materialized, I was assaulted by a wave of damp heat, the air reeking of burnt fur and vast quantities of spilled blood from the Tuskers being slaughtered there. A few mages were recuperating and renewing their enchantments in the lobby, though how they could stand this horrid environment is beyond me. Not wanting to stay inside any longer, I quickly exited the dungeon.
"Diamond!"
"!"
*thump*
*crunch-squishy noises*
*Holy Shi-*
*more crunchy-squishy noises*
I hit the ground running, alerted by a warning cry from my beloved...and even moreso by the sounds of fellow adventurers being sent back to their respective lifestones. I ran to a clear area predetermined though earlier excursions where my partner was waiting. Though death has no real meaning in this world, my heart still raced and I was shaky from the suddenly near proximity of the glimmering monstrousity two inches from my face as I exited the portal. Recovering myself quickly, I felt the old frustration of having to live with the amateur and inconsiderate people populating Dereth. The relatively small penalty for dying seems to create individuals with no consideration for fellow adventurers and little respect to those who chose to hold some semblance of a hunting ethic. A hand on my shoulder roused me from my fuming thoughts and I turned and gave a quick nod with a slight smile, assuring my fretful partner that I was unharmed and unhindered by any harmful enchantments. We quickly worked our way along a *safe* route methodically tearing apart small troops of Tuskers we encountered on the way to a more productive area, less frequented by fellow hunters. Along the way we left behind and encountered small piles of armor, enough to equip a small army back in Ispar, effectively useless here. As we continued, I mused over the lower horizon, shimmering crazily though waves of heat coming up from the ground. Curious, I took off my gauntlets and placed a hand to the smooth black glass, then snatched it back due to the heat...this place must be a giant black oven during the day...I wonder how those daytime hunters survive out here.
As the late evening progressed to the night, we were overrun by a sandstorm whipping up from one of the giant crevices that marred the smooth surface of the plain, a result from all the heat over the millenia, I suppose. Considering the torturous conditions of this region, I can almost sympathize with the ill-temper of the creatures here. We huddled against each other in the shelter of a large lifestone-like crystal to wait the fury of the storm out, covering our faces and ears to gaurd our senses from the elements. Even though a thick shawl with hands pressed against my ears, thunder from heat lightning crackled though painfully and I could still hear the continual rasp and howl of the wind and sand. I was surprised the storm lasted a mere ten minutes, for it seemed like hours. We got up, brushed ourselves off, and surveyed the area. The ground was noticably cooler now--in fact rather chilly, and was scoured and polished to a reflective surface that first drew me to this area. Continuing along the way, we spent more time gazing at the nighscape than anything else. The clear night sky, with its auroras shifting between all the colors of the spectrum. The ground reflected the night sky, and the crackle of distant thunder could be fainly heard on the wind. One of the true wonders of Dereth, the ethereal beauty of this place...akin to walking among the stars. We entered the deep plains and settled ourselves on a tall mushroom to spend the rest of the night gazing at the sky...then it clouded over and started to rain, so we finished leveling and left.
Ok, there's my lame-ass attempt at creative writing :P
Sandstorms and Time-Based environmental effects would be pretty damn cool though, hehe.
Post Mortem: Leveling on the Obsidian Plains
At around level 46, I decided to finally leave the plains for a better source of xp. I'm going to be writing on things other than the plains now (namely Aerlinthe), so I'll write a final verdict on leveling in this area.
Region: Obisidian Plains
Access Points:
Black Hill
Disaster Maze
Plains BSD
Virindi Fort
Tumeidon Minion Dungeon
Sotoris Minion Dungeon
Shendolain Vesibule
Inhabitants:
Virindi Puppet/Servant/Master
Tusker Slave/Gaurd
Diamond/Obsidian Golem
Venemous/Harrower/Destroyer Grievver
Shadow/Shadow Lt./Panumbris/Umbris
Shadow Wisp
Druge Slave/Lurker/Stalker/Ravener/Altered
Silver Rat
Gold Phyntos Wasp
Tumeroks
Points of Interest:
Mushroom Field/Magical Fountain
Tumeidon Hollow Minion Camp
Charkon Flux
Primary Quarry:
Tusker Gaurd
Tusker Slave
Most Annoying Creature:
Obsidian golem
Pros:
Outdoor Area
Large Area
Easily Navigable
Cons:
Other People
Reccommended Levels for Battlemages:
30-45
Minimum Requirements:
210 buffed Life/War
Level 5 Item Enchantment
Estimated XP Yield:
Level 30-35: 500k an hour
Level 35-40: 800k an hour
Level 40+ : 1.0 - 1.2 million an hour
Tips:
People = lesser xp yield, get away from commonly frequented locations
Finding a better place to level
Well, if you haven't realised it yet, there are other places to level. If you think there's only 3 Hollow Minion Camps out there, think again. The month after the introduction of monster camps, the event...teaser(?) mentioned that monsters continued to build camps. For those who clued in on this, they have been enjoying nice reliable xp income at a multitude of secret locations throughout the Direlands. I decided that these locations would be the next ideal location to level since the Plains were getting rather crowded and my route was stretching further and further out, therefore becoming inconvenient.
Easy Steps to Finding Your Very Own Tusker Camp
1. Get access to to the direlands via running/portal, any location will do
2. Run around until you find a camp
Voila, simple huh? Depending on your luck, you might find one within 5 minutes, or wander around for 2 hours without a whiff of a Tusker.
Determining if You Have a Good Camp
1. Obviously if other people are there, its safe to assume 3 or 4 others know of its existence.
2. The farther out, the better. The more inconvenient the location, the less likely someone is going to frequent it.
3. Distance between spawns. I've seen Tusker Camps that are totally horrid, spread out so far that randome dires spawn points have been placed along your path running from spawn to spawn. Along with losing time running around, you will get hassled by the spawns, perhaps a Banderling Striker Imperil/Blud Vulning you, or an Umbris Shadow Life Inepting you.
4. Terrain. Terrain directly affects spawn point locations (duh), if there is a large hill in the area, one Tusker Spawn might be on it, maybe even on the other side of the hill. If there is a cliff in the vicinity of the spawn...well, you might get your leveling path sliced in half. Terrain also has that annoying tendancy of blocking your line of sight...didn't see that Hollow Minion over the ridge? Too bad, yer dead. On the other hand, if a cliff or hill is placed just the right way, you could get 2 or 3 spawns within sight of each other...saves time, therefore allowing you to garner phat xp continuously.
5. Watch message boards, some loudmouth might stumble into your camp and try to score points with the online community (under the guise of sharing info, of course), and blab out the coords of your camp. If that happens, people will most likely begin to appear...time to move out.
A final note on this subject:
No, I will not give away coords of Tusker Camps, if you want to know the location of a Camp, get off your butt and find them on your own.
Now, time for something interesting...this will be my first of a large comprehensive guide to hunting on Aerlinthe. These topics will range from the techniques to tackle different creatures for loot purposes to the "Aerlinthe Quest" itself. Anyways...
Aerlinthe for Battlemages without Arcane/Creature
The Island-Port of Aerlinthe is perhaps the ultimate goal for many players. Great loot, no low levels and hype generated by people who have already been there. Level restriction is level 45+, and many people head off there as soon as they hit it. The majority of characters already have the equipment/skills to do reasonably well if they keep a head on their shoulders.
The Battlemage, however, is in no such situation. Lacking the super-boost that the majority of other mages have with Creature Enchantment, the Battlemage is rather ill-equipped at this point to tackle most of the monsters on the Island. I suppose that might be a point against the BM template...not being able to experience Aerlinthe *fully* before level 50...
So what to do?
Getting There
Actually, I think Ertel has this pretty much down pat. Visit his site at Etrel's AC Mage Spot - Guide to Aerlinthe(h0h0h0, I'm a lazy bum ;p)
The Viability of Cash Hunting for the Undergraduate Battlemage
Though the Battlemage can't really handle the "Big 3" monsters most hunters go for, Banderlings, Druges and Corals, they do have some other options for making cash. There are 3 mobs on Aerlinthe that a Battlemage at this point can handle, and kill for money. The primary source of your income at this point will be Peas. I only wandered as far as the broken bridge at Shimena Keep, there were plenty of things to kill between the drop-off point and there :)
Zarya's Crazy Peas for Cash Theory:
Pea
1 Pea : 10 bu
Cheapest Pea : 550py
Pyreals per bu : 55py/1bu
Expensive Pea : 50,000py
Pyreals per bu : 5000py/bu
Extra Benefits : Stackable
Loot-o-Matic...uh...Sword, yeah...
Rapier : 550bu
Value : 12,000py
Pyreals per bu : 22py/1bu
Extra Benefits : None
Winner : Pea! :P
Things on Aerlinthe(that you can kill at the moment)
White Phyntos Wasp:
Visible on Radar : Always
Drops Peas : Yes
Drops Keys : No
Trophies : White Wasp Wing
Experience : 10k
Magic D : 174
Attack Type : Slashing
Spells : Frost Volley V, Frost Bolt V
Weakness : Physical Damage Spells, Frost
Attack Style : Persistant to Last Attacker, Solo
These things are easy to take down. Vuln + Bolt(or two) = Dead wasp...easy xp. White wings are worth 1000p and 1000xp when turned in to a Wing Collector, good way to level your mules if you can't twink them, hehe. Make sure you lure them to you first though, they're usually in the midst of another group of creatures. Not drain friendly, you can't break even if you try to drain them.
Malus Shreth:
Visible on Radar : Emote/Agitated
Drops Peas : Yes
Drops Keys : Yes
Trophies : Large Shreth Hide
Experience : 4.5k
Magic D : 180
Attack Type : Bludgeon
Spells : None
Weakness : Frost
Attack Style : Persistant when damaged, Social...low attention span if not damaged (like Tuskers)
I'm pretty sure everyone would have seen these before by this time. They're the same thing as the mainland version, same killing formula as wasps: vuln...shoot. The only difference between Mainland and Island spawns is...
There's more =P
Ember:
Visible on Radar : Agitated
Drops Peas : No
Drops Keys : No
Trophies : None
Experience : 5.5k
Magic D : Can't be greater than 200 (not confirmed/recorded yet)
Attack Type : Ball of Fire(Thrown)/Melee (Fire Damage)
Spells : Fire Vuln IV, Bafflement/Slowness IV, Fire Bolt III/IV
Weakness : Frost
Attack Style : Closest Enemy
Really small and slow, easily mistaken for campfires. Just ignore them.
Wasteland Rat:
Visible on Radar : Emote/Agitated
Drops Peas : Yes
Drops Keys : Yes
Trophies : None
Experience : 6.5k
Magic D : Not more than 240 (not confirmed/recorded yet)
Attack Type : Piercing, Acid
Spells : None
Weakness : Physical Damage Spells
Attack Style : Last attacker, Persistant
Olthoi Soldiers with 500 run. Just because they're rats doesn't mean they don't hit hard...in GSA without buffs, I've been hit for 40+. Kill them the same way as Shreth and Wasps...they're not very drainable though, so don't expect to regain a lot of stam or health from them.
Results of one Pea Hunting trip:
Verdigris
Pink (3)
Gypsum
Violet (2)
Brimstone
Brown (3)
Turpeth (2)
Green (6)
Stibinite
Grey (3)
Cobalt
Yellow (2)
Quicksilver (2)
Red (4)
Realgar (3)
White (4)
Vitriol (2)
Orange (3)
Cadmia (2)
Hemlock
Eyebright (3)
Hazel
Hawthorn (2)
Oak
Damiana (2)
Blackthorn
Yarrow
Ashwood
Myrrh
Alder (2)
Ginseng
Elder (2)
Mugwort
Rowan (3)
Amaranth
Yew (2)
Madrake (7)
Willow
Wormwood (3)
Lead
Hyssop (2)
Iron
Vervian (3)
Copper (4)
Saffron (2)
Silver (4)
Bistort (2)
Gold (3)
Powdered Turquoise (2)
Pyreal (3)
Hematite (2)
Lapis Lazuli (3)
Agate
Onyx (6)
Carnelian
Bloodstone (2)
Azurite (3)
Moonstone
Sold in Ayan Baqur...money made: uh...lots. Enough to pay for the next 3 levels, hehe.
Um...well that should be it for today, more to come tomorrow (I hope).
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