The Western Excavation

[vmsbass]

I am looking at my quest list, and I would like to try the 'In need of rescue' quest. Now, I am told that I can find the quest giver in The Western Excavation. The problem is, I have no idea where this place is. By using DDO Wiki, I know it is in the Ruins of Threnal; but yet again, I have no idea where this place is either. Is there some place I am supposed to know where to go for these quests, short of looking outside the game or asking in chat? I have always just used ddo wiki and the forums to find where a particular quest begins, but this time I came up with nothing; which started me wondering what people who do not think to use such resources do to find these quests. What am I missing?

[herzkos]

the actual quest is in the threnal area. to get there you talk to
Jalizco Helos (or something pretty close to that) in house Phairlan next
to the necropolis entrance.

I believe that the area is called the "abandoned excavation" on the in game map, but i'm not
entirely sure.

[Moonseeker]

Hey there, the entrance to the Threnal Ruins is in the back end of House Phiarlan, through an arch in the wall and near the caravan entrance to the Necropolis. You need to speak to a man sitting on a bench just to the left after passing through the arch.(Can't remember his name at the moment) Upon speaking to him you have the option of being taken to the ruins and from there it is a giant/ogre strewn adventure to the ruins area itself where you pick up the quests. Hope this helps.

Moonseeker

[vmsbass]

Well, thanks for the info, so I can at least now go ahead and start the quest. After looking, it is actually the 'Abandoned Keep' that takes you to the Ruins of Threnal, which has the Western Excavation is it.

But again, how am I supposed to know that 'The Western Excavation' is inside 'The Ruins of Threnal', which itself is only arrived at through the 'Abandoned Keep' without some 'metagame' help? Is there some ingame tool which lets you know where to go? I tried finding it, looking on the map of House Phiarlan (since it is a Phiarlan quest), but there was no such npc on the map or in the Inns, no icon which says anything about an excavation, threnal, or even Ruins. Again, what am I missing?

[TehSilence]

Eh... um.... hmmm....

Good question. It's likely one of those things that you learn from someone else or by posting on the forums like you did, mate.

I myself found it because I'm naturally curious.

"Hey, who is that guy? Where does he take me to? ZZZAP!! Oh, neato! Hey, is that a giant? SPLAT."

It was fun, anyway.



-Silence

[Avelin]

Well, thanks for the info, so I can at least now go ahead and start the quest. After looking, it is actually the 'Abandoned Keep' that takes you to the Ruins of Threnal, which has the Western Excavation is it.

But again, how am I supposed to know that 'The Western Excavation' is inside 'The Ruins of Threnal', which itself is only arrived at through the 'Abandoned Keep' without some 'metagame' help? Is there some ingame tool which lets you know where to go? I tried finding it, looking on the map of House Phiarlan (since it is a Phiarlan quest), but there was no such npc on the map or in the Inns, no icon which says anything about an excavation, threnal, or even Ruins. Again, what am I missing?

This confuses many folks including myself when I first started to look for those quests. They should just change the map label to read "Threnal Ruins" instead of "Abandoned Keep".

[Enir]

Agreed! Plus it took me 4 days just to find the arch to run through! Thought it was some kind of secret door for awhile :-D.
I've run into these mapping problems with all MMGs. Of course, mapping is a very small problem compared to crafting . . .

[ThrasherGT]

Where is my Aludium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator?

"Being dis-integrated makes Me very annnnnngry!":D

Gotta love Bugs Bunny......................:)

[Kaldaka]

This confuses many folks including myself when I first started to look for those quests. They should just change the map label to read "Threnal Ruins" instead of "Abandoned Keep".

Well, to be honest, I think they don't change little things like this because they count on and encourage player to player assistance for a lot in this game. And I don't think that is such a bad thing ... This game would completely fall apart if we as a player base didn't rely on each other for help, whether in quest or not.

See the following for a great example:

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=121279

or this one:

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=132855

Both of these were written by players to help other players. The Devs do not want to spoil the "fun" of discovering these things for yourself, or the "fun" of helping a noobie find his way. These are and always will be a integral part of this game, and I for one really like that about this game.

[Angelus_dead]

But again, how am I supposed to know that 'The Western Excavation' is inside 'The Ruins of Threnal', which itself is only arrived at through the 'Abandoned Keep' without some 'metagame' help? Is there some ingame tool which lets you know where to go? I tried finding it, looking on the map of House Phiarlan (since it is a Phiarlan quest), but there was no such npc on the map or in the Inns, no icon which says anything about an excavation, threnal, or even Ruins. Again, what am I missing?
You're a game hero, so the expectation is that naturally you'd go everywhere and talk to everyone (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TalkToEveryone).

Of course, it was much easier to naturally stumble upon Threnal back before they stupidly added the Necropolis gateway to that same spot. Originally, you'd go through the arch at the wall of House P and the only thing at the end is Jalizco Hellios and his wagon, which he uses to drive you to Threnal.

They Litany of the Dead came out, and then pushed Jalizco to the side, moved his wagon away from him, and made it so clicking his wagon takes you somewhere totally different from where the owner is going. When you go to either Threnal or Necropolis, turn around and you'll see that same wagon behind you.

Using a wagon to get to Necropolis makes no sense at all, because it's directly adjacent to Stormreach and should only be a brief stroll.

[MrWizard]

there are lots of clues in your quest log...and the maps in the houses and outdoor areas have a lot of mouse overs that clearly help you.

i used to just lfm a quest and someone always new how to get there.

[Lost_Leader]

Ya, I always got confused with the labeling there, as well. And that Archway in House P... I think I ran around it for 15 mins the first time I went looking for it before I actually saw it. Good times.

This thread got me to thinking though, that the quests are pretty straight forward, but finding them the first time around can be a pain, so I added a links to the Map of the Threnal Area (http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=1404250&postcount=4) done by forum poster Geoffhanna (http://forums.ddo.com/member.php?u=32915) and a little pic of where the Threnal Ruins (a.k.a. Abandoned Keep) (http://lostmeetingplace.tripod.com/ddo/Pictures/tothrenalmap.jpg) are located in House Phiarlan are all now in the Lost Quest Guide (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=122192).

[Avelin]

Ya, I always got confused with the labeling there, as well. And that Archway in House P... I think I ran around it for 15 mins the first time I went looking for it before I actually saw it. Good times.

This thread got me to thinking though, that the quests are pretty straight forward, but finding them the first time around can be a pain, so I added a links to the Map of the Threnal Area (http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=1404250&postcount=4) done by forum poster Geoffhanna (http://forums.ddo.com/member.php?u=32915) and a little pic of where the Threnal Ruins (a.k.a. Abandoned Keep) (http://lostmeetingplace.tripod.com/ddo/Pictures/tothrenalmap.jpg) are located in House Phiarlan are all now in the Lost Quest Guide (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=122192).

Thank you for that guide by the way. I can't tell you how many times i have referred to it. :)

[Issip]

Finding the quest is reasonable, but take care, if you wish to continue your quest chain and do East and South ruins, you must be careful about who you talk to, what you say, and in what order.

When Jan Falner gives you an end reward for completing the three West quests, a dialogue menu automatically pops up saying "Repeat This Quest?". Click yes and you are starting over. If you are with a group then you can still do the rest, jsut not advance your quest chain and not get an end reward for the quest arch.

Sam thing when you turn in East - talk to Sil (Sal?) again but be careful and ask for other work so he sends you to another quest-giver for South - saying the wrong thing here can reset East.

When you get done with everything, if you want to repeat the quest chain for another crack at the end rewards you have to talk to Sil again to reset the quest if you don't want to repeat West (you can jsut repeat East and South I beleive). If you abandon in your quest log you loose it all, if you say the wrong thing to Sil you loose it all, - Someone help me out here, I forget off the top of my head exactly how this works for resetting East/South (which is sad as I've been on since pre-order).

I like the finding the quests thing, but I don't like having a different system for bestowing each quest and hidden traps that prevent certain players from completing quest chains due to confusing, undocumented quest sequencing and/or questgiver dialoge traps. The player that got screwed out of any shot at an end reward list isn't happy and it doesn't enhance the game, only detracts.

Very similar issues with the tombs quests in Necropolis, but since you don't have to do those horrible quests to get 1750 anymore and the silver flamer favor rewards are a joke, that problem solved itself when everyone simply abandoned that content.

[elraido]

I remember when the game launched and I went running out there at lvl 3. I was like cooooooool, a giant. Then he hit me.

[RavenStormclaw]

Eh... um.... hmmm....

Good question. It's likely one of those things that you learn from someone else or by posting on the forums like you did, mate.

I myself found it because I'm naturally curious.

"Hey, who is that guy? Where does he take me to? ZZZAP!! Oh, neato! Hey, is that a giant? SPLAT."

It was fun, anyway.



-Silence


Hey I did that with my sorcerer was level 4. I am fairly sure the giant used my scorching ray to cook his meal before splatterig me into a pubble of muck. LOL!

[Venar]

You will have a hard time finding a party to run the threnal serie, because currently, Eastern excavation part 2 is bugged. It's a fun quest, but until they fix Coyle attacking unspawned golems, i'd hold it.


As for finding the quest, there is the fact that quest givers have a huge yellow disk upon their head...

[Shagn]

You will have a hard time finding a party to run the threnal serie, because currently, Eastern excavation part 2 is bugged. It's a fun quest, but until they fix Coyle attacking unspawned golems, i'd hold it.


As for finding the quest, there is the fact that quest givers have a huge yellow disk upon their head...

Coyle strikes again!

Can we have an easter egg dungeon that spawns Coyle clones in waves? I would thoroughly enjoy toasting some Coyle's on an open fire. Instead of Kobold Assault, we could have Coyle Assault. It would be a lvl22 dungeon on elite and he will be just as squishy as he always has been...

EDIT: Oh, and give us mobs of mephits, rust monsters, golems, and flensers to charm and assist in the beatdown. >:D

[Karranor]

Coyle strikes again!

Can we have an easter egg dungeon that spawns Coyle clones in waves? I would thoroughly enjoy toasting some Coyle's on an open fire. Instead of Kobold Assault, we could have Coyle Assault. It would be a lvl22 dungeon on elite and he will be just as squishy as he always has been...

Please!!! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!!

Oh and Please!!!









...giddy at the very thought of it...

[vmsbass]

As for finding the quest, there is the fact that quest givers have a huge yellow disk upon their head...

Sorry, but this is completely useless in this case. Read again.