Is there no proof to the poison?

[Olaff]

Yes and no. The box is on the lower floor in the middle of the eggblenders. You can disable it before pulling the switch. It only stops the blade traps though.

No, there's a box that turns off the firetraps as well, but you have to go through the fire to get to it.

[QuantumFX]

No, there's a box that turns off the firetraps as well, but you have to go through the fire to get to it.

Edited and cool - I'm off to go find it...

[TheDoctor]

My 5th lvl rogue Rayzerr and 5th lvl Pali/rog/ftr guildee Xyath, 2 manned most of the quest on our first attempt (Normal).(we had 3 and he left after dieing in the acid a few times, we also had a bard join late in the quest who did do a bit here and there, so we carried his stone when needed when he died in the acid too.) The key was to take it slow, not break the boxes which are designed to alert the nearby mobs, have acid resist pots, shield pots and barkskin, fight in the doorways etc. We wiped 3 times due to breaking boxes but once we worked out the Devs strategy we cruised through it. Other than MM all the other spells that were cast at us could be avoided by hiding behind the MANY obstacles placed in the quest for that exact reason, to use as cover. The Ottos was a pain but we got through it. We had no magic users and no healers only pots and wands.

If L14's had trouble I question your play style. I'll take my high levels in there tonight and smash it wide open. Just for some payback… : )

I really enjoyed the quest and applaud the devs on some innovative use of AI and dungeon design. It was a good test of player experience and skill.

[riaggo]

I dont like it. The problems with level 14's soloing it or 3manning it is probaly the lack of resists. 10d6 is overpowering for level 6's..... the quest is level 6. put on all resists and i had no problems with anything except for the fact taht they can hit a 56 ac on a level 6 quest. its kinda pathetic and this quest is worth nothing but favor considering how greatly unfun it is. its very doable but its just not fun at all. btw sc can b run with all level 2's and 1 quest opener that then leaves after the quest. so dont bother saying that its mind boggling that people cant do this mission....... also i read something about freshen the air having the same difficulty and people just need to change their ways...... i dont run freshen the air either bcuz its not fun. whoever made this quest, the pit, and the necropalis need to start playing the game to find out a usual groups capabilties..... not every1 is a genius.

suggestions:
destroy quest
make it a level 7 or 8 dungeon.
lower difficulty.

any1 of those three would work out well =D

[DKerrigan]

I dont like it. The problems with level 14's soloing it or 3manning it is probaly the lack of resists. 10d6 is overpowering for level 6's..... the quest is level 6. put on all resists and i had no problems with anything except for the fact taht they can hit a 56 ac on a level 6 quest. its kinda pathetic and this quest is worth nothing but favor considering how greatly unfun it is. its very doable but its just not fun at all. btw sc can b run with all level 2's and 1 quest opener that then leaves after the quest. so dont bother saying that its mind boggling that people cant do this mission....... also i read something about freshen the air having the same difficulty and people just need to change their ways...... i dont run freshen the air either bcuz its not fun. whoever made this quest, the pit, and the necropalis need to start playing the game to find out a usual groups capabilties..... not every1 is a genius

Um...it's supposed to be a level 4 quest on normal.

[Newfy]

This quest is one of the more down to earth quest. On normal my lvl 7 Pally/Ftr soloed it with little trouble. Four manned it on hard with no cleric and again had little troubles. Elite was tuned up a bit but still within lvl range.

Great job Turbine, the quest was a delight to play and XP was pretty good too..

[Ekental]

A lvl 14 caster? You'll manage it in 10 minutes or less, normal, hard, or elite.

That's not the issue though.

Imagine going through this on your lvl 6-7s...
Why would you, want to run through a long gigantic geometric maze? If ever there was a quest that made people feel like they were stuck in an aggressive rat race, this would be it.
Like a large number of quests in the game, there's no incentive to going through this more than.. once, on elite, for anything but favor.
What are you doing at lvl 7? Stormcleave, Co6, Threnal...
All of which give you more xp/time that you spend on it.

I'd certainly rather go through SC elite at 7 than a quest where I would get MM/Fireballed/Lightning Bolted to death (elite).

There needs to be a somewhat comparable amount of reward for the time spent.

[Tanka]

There needs to be a somewhat comparable amount of reward for the time spent.

Agreed. The highest leveled item I got was a piece of L2 weaponry.

For an L6 quest on Elite, while the chest rules say that the above is, in fact, correct, the difficulty of the quest on Elite for the level intended is an outright joke.

At L6, I'm running SC. And getting far better items on Normal than I am in that on Elite.

[Knightrose]

I think all siginifcantly challenging quests should have nice rewards. And that doesn't mean spoils (like a vorpal every time you spit). But I mean, be creative here. There's other ways to reward players for spending hour(s) in a dungeon. Rare items for example. What ever happened to rare expensive art? Throw in some Statues of David that are worth 1kpp or more at the vendor. At least that would be welcome over masterwork or a geology bag.

[sirgog]

I didn't dislike the quest. On normal or hard, it's marginally harder than the level would suggest - not because the mobs are tough, but because there's only one shrine. At elite, however, it's tremendously hard. My Sor8 that can solo Stormcleave without trouble ran into it with a party of 5 level 6-8s that had all run the quest at least once before. We wiped after a few fights. Multiple mobs spamming lightning bolt, fireball, acid arrow and more make for a very tough quest.

IMO it should have had a second shrine in it, and/or been a level 5 quest. That would make it similar in balance to STK part 3.

[Sue_Dark]

Edited - There is a box on the lower floor in the middle of the eggblenders. You can disable it before pulling the switch. It only stops the blade traps though. Apparently there's another trapbox and I'm off to go find it...

I found a trap box at the far end of the bridge, near the gate and one below it in the middle of the floor.

[Wulf_Ratbane]

I didn't dislike the quest. On normal or hard, it's marginally harder than the level would suggest - not because the mobs are tough, but because there's only one shrine. At elite, however, it's tremendously hard. My Sor8 that can solo Stormcleave without trouble ran into it with a party of 5 level 6-8s that had all run the quest at least once before. We wiped after a few fights. Multiple mobs spamming lightning bolt, fireball, acid arrow and more make for a very tough quest.

Once you know the quest, you should be able to run it almost all the way through before your House P Resist Energy buffs wear off. So, just plan on doing this quest (on elite, certainly) AFTER you've earned your House P buffs.

(Really, why don't folks use these buffs before every quest? 30 minute resists. Duh.)

I would hazard to say that most of the damage you take inside this quest will be from magic missile.


The "always turn right" rule works pretty much flawlessly as far as navigating your way through.

This is no Pit-- not by a longshot.

[Roguewiz]

This quest is entirely too difficult for the level.

Not everyone has 5 shield clicky items.
Not everyone is part wizard/sorcerer or cleric
Not everyone has a high enough UMD to use a Shield Wand.
Only 1 shrine, after fighting through 100+ mobs, is just not enough.

The quest would have gone better for me, if I would have had my Shield Wand on me, but I didn't. I didn't die, but I used an excessive amount of resources, AT LEVEL 14, for a level 4 quest.

Two Cure Serious Wands (fell into the Acid...sigh)
4 Heal Scrolls
Who knows how many Cure Serious Potions
Lay on Hands 4 times (after shrine of course)

And this is just on normal. This quest reminds me of "Swiped Signet". On normal, there are alot of casters, spamming Magic Missle.

On elite, I expect to see all those small hallways filled with Sleet Storm....And the final fight for the quest is going to be a bear for a group that isn't organized.

I found a trap box at the far end of the bridge, near the gate and one below it in the middle of the floor.

Disable the trap on the floor before you pull the level, otherwise this trap will be a true test of a low level Rogue's evasion

PS

220+ mobs in the dungeon? Geez.

[Roguewiz]

Sigh...see above. It is too early in the morning

[Wulf_Ratbane]

This quest is entirely too difficult for the level.

Not everyone has 5 shield clicky items.

I have one, but didn't use it.

Only 1 shrine, after fighting through 100+ mobs, is just not enough.

I didn't use it.

I used an excessive amount of resources, AT LEVEL 14, for a level 4 quest.

You couldn't do this on normal? What class are you?

It sounds like your DPS was too low, and you need to either refit your items or your spells.

I made it through dual wielding a weighted hammer and a seeker pick. Run into the mobs, click click click until they were all dead, heal up, repeat. My AC dual wielding is... maybe 32?

I used about 20-30 charges of Cure Serious Wounds. That's it. Never even had to use the shrine.

On elite, I expect to see all those small hallways filled with Sleet Storm....

I was worried about this myself. I skipped hard, so I don't know, but on elite it was lightning bolt and, of course, magic missile. Not sure if they were casting hold person or not (I had a cleric cast freedom of movement on me.)

And the final fight for the quest is going to be a bear for a group that isn't organized.

Really? Cause I pretty much did this the same way I did every other fight-- run into the middle of them and swing until everything stopped moving.

I guess you could say I zerged this quest, solo (on normal). (Ftr6/Rog6/Rgr2)

It's absolutely solo-able by a 14th level character on normal. Sheesh.

[Dane_McArdy]

I've read a lot of complaints about the unlimited mana NPC casters have. But I have yet to see that unlimited mana make a difference, when I am playing.

Mobs just don't live long enough. And like how a real DM would probably have mobs focus on the parties casters, don't we as adventures, do the same?

[Olaff]

Besides, the Pit is an awesome quest. It's second on my list of favorites, right behind the Delera's chain.

'course, I have step-by-step directions, so it's not even close to being hard anymore.

EDIT: Didn't get the chance to run Poison on hard/elite last night... but when I ran on normal, I was dual-wielding a Seeker 2 Battleaxe and a Seeker 8 Handaxe. The only time melee hurt me was when I was surrounded and people to the rear and flanks were hitting me.

[Aspenor]

My only problem with the quest was the "lack of shrines."

However, it has been stated in this thread that there are 3 shrines. We did not have a rogue. That must have been the problem

Must be a secret door or two we missed somewhere.

[Roguewiz]

I have one, but didn't use it.

I would have used mine if I had it on me.

I didn't use it.

Good for you, I used it to get my LoH back

You couldn't do this on normal? What class are you?

Rogue 11/3 Paladin. I never said I couldn't do it on normal, I said I had a difficult time. If I was more prepared for it, I might have done better. However, Turbine cannot expect everyone to have the things that are required for this quest.

It sounds like your DPS was too low, and you need to either refit your items or your spells.

My DPS is situational since I am a Rogue. I haven't had the opportunity to actually measure it though, so I am not sure how much it is without sneak attack. Stuff was dying fast, but it is the initial opening salvo of magic missles and melfs acid arrow.

I made it through dual wielding a weighted hammer and a seeker pick. Run into the mobs, click click click until they were all dead, heal up, repeat. My AC dual wielding is... maybe 32?

I use a +4 Silver Flaming Rapier of Deception (helps for the occasional backstab w/aggro) and a +4 Shocking Burst Light Mace of Backstabbing. I click click click, and they all die. Heal up and do the same. Your AC is higher than mine, but like that matters in this game . But again, its the moment they are engaged where I take all the damage. But at level 4, that would be enough to almost kill lower levels.
I used about 20-30 charges of Cure Serious Wounds. That's it. Never even had to use the shrine.

I don't use shrines to heal, I use them to refresh: Clickies, LoH, Action Boost, Improved Uncanny Dodge. I'm glad you only used 20-30 charges of Cure Serious Wands. Good for you.

You have more HP than me more than likely. I have a whopping 204, so I need to heal up after getting smacked by 4 different mobs casting magic missile.

I was worried about this myself. I skipped hard, so I don't know, but on elite it was lightning bolt and, of course, magic missile. Not sure if they were casting hold person or not (I had a cleric cast freedom of movement on me.)

Anything that requires a save doesn't bother me, its the ones that don't have a save that tear me up, do to low hp.

Really? Cause I pretty much did this the same way I did every other fight-- run into the middle of them and swing until everything stopped moving.

I had no problems on Normal for the final fight, but due to the 1 Red named and 2 orange named in this encounter, an unorganzied group will die.

I guess you could say I zerged this quest, solo (on normal). (Ftr6/Rog6/Rgr2)

*Clap* Hurray! I actually like learning quests.

It's absolutely solo-able by a 14th level character on normal. Sheesh.

When and where did I say that this quest isn't doable by a 14? Sheesh, quit reading between the lines.

The quest SHOULD be soloeable by a level 14. However, the problem is a group of level 4s attempting this quest.

My only problem with the quest was the "lack of shrines."

However, it has been stated in this thread that there are 3 shrines. We did not have a rogue. That must have been the problem

Must be a secret door or two we missed somewhere.

I only found one, the obvious one, near a pool of acid. Granted, I wasn't really paying attention to the "hidden door" message, so I might have missed it.

[Dariun]

A few more comments on this quest...

Duo'd this last night with a 5 cleric/1 paladin and 2 rogue/2 pal/2fghtr. We had one death (do entirely to lack of pipe jumping abilities). We used 3 cure moderate wands. It took us 70 minutes incl. me recalling to tavern, healing, and running back through 70% of the dungeon.

I liked it for several reasons:

• It was a much more "epic" quest than you generally get at level 4, in that it was long and has pretty good XP for the level.
  
• Speaking of which -- the XP was nice. Even with 20% penalty for being lvl 6 and 20% re-entry penalty I got about 3500 XP.
  
• Charge! is a really bad strategy for this quest. Rogues, rangers, clerics, and arcanes will have important roles to play.
  
• Although there are a very large number of monsters, the encounters are very similar, so you do not need a lot of different strategies (soundburst really helps).
  
• It's a bit of a maze but at the same time it is hard to get lost because it is a linear maze. Also, opening the last gate by the silver key to give a shortcut back to the silver door was absolutely necessary. I was going to scream if I had to run all the way back...
  
• Enemy spell caster AI was pretty good. Kudos for repeatedly Niac'ing our Hell Hound.
  
• That one trap -- the one that isn't really a "trap" -- the one that led to my death -- nice job on that.
  
• The spider corridor -- great stuff.
  
• Acid pools are cool!

As for criticisms:

• Acid pools are evil! I took 35+ points of damage/round on exposure to the acid pools. For lvl 4 characters, that's insta death.
  
• Pretty tough for a level 4 quest. Acid resist is mandatory throughout, and lvl 4 casters only can cast resist 10 for 4 min at a time.
  
• Needs another shrine.
  
• Agree the loot is lame for such a long quest. I highly recommend some named Improved Acid Resist item with min lvl 3 and an Acid/Pure Good weapon.
  
• Pipe jumping -- it's no secret I detest pipe jumping. However, this quest isn't as bad as others because (1) you can kill most enemies before pipe jumping, (2) in two of the three pipe jumping situations only one person needs to do it (and one of them, of course, well... it won't be done too often), and (3) they seem to be "bigger" pipes than other quests so it is easier to stay on them.

Overall grade:

• B+ -- not perfect, but good XP and a real challenge for lvl 4 parties in a stand alone quest -- needs a chance for some good named loot to drop, one more shrine, and maybe cut the acid pool damage in half.