Ghosts of Perdition -- follow Boy Scout motto!

[brian14]

I am AA 15 (about to be 16 as you will see). First time I went into Ghosts of Perdition few weeks ago was a disaster. Everyone died on wheep brothers, recalled, re-entered, then barely defeated the already-weakened wheep brothers with several more deaths; I recall expending quite a few Aerratikos cookies in that battle. Shrined up and went after Cholthuzz, but once he removed our buffs it was all over. Not sure about the others, but I certainly was unprepared. Normally I rely on Imbue Force (or Force Burst) to hit incorporeal undead; without Imbue Force, whatever bow I was using did not do much good against a lawful good incorporeal.

This time was different. Very first thing I did after that inglorious fight was buy Ghost touch longbow of Maiming on AH. Soon after I lucked out in Shroud and pulled Holy burst bow of Greater undead bane. Holy burst part is irrelevant to Cholthuzz, but the other part is not. I stocked up on Anarchic arrows, pulled Shards of Light out of storage, and finally got a Scarab of spell absorption. Not sure if that made any difference.

Jessemina, Alderich and I each got a cleric hireling, so we were two rangers and FOUR healers -- nobody over level 17. All trash mobs got disposed of quickly, as I expected. Wheep brothers went down with just one death -- and I could see my Shards of Light were doing massive damage. So my plan for Cholthuzz was: equip Greater undead bane bow and Shards of Light (same as for wheeps); when they run out switch to Ghost touch maiming bow and Anarchic arrows -- and have quiver with all other Anarchic arrows equipped, so I automatically switch from +2 to +3, etc. as I use them up.

It almost worked. We did not even try for the optionals -- just crowded around Cholthuzz and let each ice floor break and send us down level after level leaving trash mobs behind. Unfortunately you can't do that with last level. I knew we were in trouble when two wheeps aggroed on me, and I had to choose between defending myself and putting arrows into Cholthuzz. I frantically drank several Restoration potions, but it was a losing race. Everyone died with Cholthuzz around 15% health.

Jessemina and Aderich recalled, I kept the instance open. On the way back from Necropolis to the quest Jessemina, of all the luck, ran into Orchard beholder! (She gave it a wide berth.) Once they were in, I recalled and re-entered. That's when I realized I never put on my Scarab of spell absorption. Well, I fixed that oversight, but have no idea if it made a difference or not. Within seconds after engaging Cholthuzz I had 4 neg levels -- granted, one was due to Anarchic arrows, -- and few seconds after that golden chalice appeared and the quest was over. "You have enough experience for next level." Yay! My scarab lost six charges.

[DarkRea]

Love the story, true achievement for ya, nice job overcoming the quest.
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For another time or a TR, you can run the 4 level11 Tomb crypts once each and flag for Cursed Crypt and then complete the Cursed Crypt three times, each time upgrading the trinket the Silver Flame guy, Jakub something, next to the bank in Necropolis, will give you.

First go to Jakub or what his name is, and he will give you this Silver Flame trinket stone.
Flag for Cursed Crypt
3x (Complete it. Each time after completion, click the alter to upgrade the trinket)
Youll now have a Necklace with Deathblock, Prot Evil and 10 rays absorbed pr.shrine thats Min Level 11.

Thats a very nice item for Beholder encounters if you arent a WF or cant selffix neg levels. It use to be a musthave item, back when neg levels did go away by waiting 1 minute pr.level, but as a new player you can definately use it.

It remains a hotswap item for many capped twinked toons.

The Spell Absorbs Scarab are rare so you should keep those for more important special situations later, they have their use, but bank it and get this trinket.
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AA lvl16, dont worry, the Slay arrows are gonna rock your world. And if you go pure Ranger, the capstone will really make your day.

[brian14]

Thanks for the comment!

Several people told me same thing about Silver Flame Necklace. I only have Necro I and IV packs -- and the stories I hear about Necro II and III are so dreadful, these packs do not seem worth buying just to get the Necklace.

The Spell Absorbs Scarab are rare so you should keep those for more important special situations later, they have their use, but bank it and get this trinket.

I have the Scarab put away for now, but in your opinion what IS a worthwhile situation for it?

And yes, Soondar is a pure ranger. My other toon is Bard 9/Rog 1, and I am considering getting him a level as ranger in order to a) get martial weapons proficiency (remembering to cast Master's Touch is an annoyance), and b) get ranger sprint boost. If I do that, would that toon get any SP's on ranger level?

[shadow_419]

If you ever decide to flag for the Accursed Ascension (Abbot) Raid by running Litany of the Dead, you'll need it again.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

Thanks for the comment!

Several people told me same thing about Silver Flame Necklace. I only have Necro I and IV packs -- and the stories I hear about Necro II and III are so dreadful, these packs do not seem worth buying just to get the Necklace.

You actually an skip alters. For example if you only have necro III you can just upgrade 3 times there. In your case, you can upgrade once in Necro 1, then twice when you run the Abbot twice.