The Dark
Crucible
Entry to the dungeon is no easy feat. You must first complete three other
quests, each requiring an Upper & a Lower team. The reward from each of the
Upper sides will give you a piece required to create the Dark Crucible -- a
magical artifact to be given to an Emissary of Asheron. The first quest, the
Empyrean Cloister, will give
you the Skull of Averon Palacost. The 2nd, into Shade
Stronghold, will give you the Heart of Shadow.
The prize for the 3rd quest is the Fragment
of the Singularity.
Creating
the Crucible
Combine the
Heart of the Shadow with the Fragment of the Singularity to make the Dark
Singularity. Combine the Dark Singularity with the Skull of Averon Palacost to
make the Dark Crucible. Take the Dark Crucible to the Chosen of Asheron in
Cragstone (23.6N, 49.1E) or Hebian-to (41.9S, 83.0E) who will give you a portal
gem to enter the Sepulcher of the Hopeslayer.
You give Chosen of
Asheron Dark Crucible.
Chosen of Asheron tells you, "The Hopeslayer has been destroyed, but you
may wish to visit his lair nonetheless. This gem will bring you there."
Chosen of Asheron gives you Sepulcher of the Hopeslayer Portal Gem.
The
Sepulcher of the Hopeslayer is restricted to Levels 36+, but it is strongly
recommended that you be in your mid to upper 40s before attempting the quest.
Before using the portal gem, make sure you are outside on flat ground with the
area in front of you clear. You group will only have a short time to use the
portal, so make sure everyone is ready to jump in before you use the gem!
Preparation
The entrance room is safe, with the exception of a hard-to-see dark surface
portal close to where you materialize.
Before buffing, your group will need to
organize. Inside the dungeon there is a lever, and further on a button, which
must be used to activate doors below. Designate a small group of people to stay
behind to pull the lever before joining up with the rest of the group (keep a
mage in this group to help heal). Only one person should be required to push the
button later on.
Now
buff!
The dungeon is treacherous! It's full of Destroyer, Harrower and Bane Grievvers,
plus Umbris and Panumbris Shadows. Bane with Lightning, Acid, Piercing and
Bludgeon, and use all 7 Life protects, level VII recommended.
Mages
will mainly be imperiling and healing. Use a Healer's Heart if you have
one and watch everyone's health. Once you get past the initial city area, you'll
be walking on a floor from which you will continuously take 9-11 damage as you
walk on it. The safe areas are on the slopes, and in the pods. Have some Health
Potions or Elixirs on hand, just in case. Fighters will kill.
The
First Lever
When everyone is ready, head over to the west wall of the entry room where
you'll see three metal doors. Take the left door (cast weaken lock then pick
open) and head down. Almost immediately you'll be attacked by about 8 Grievvers
and 4 Shadows. After killing them, you'll see a large open room with a lever on
the floor right in the middle. Leave your lever group here while the rest of the
group heads straight through the city heading West.
When you
get to the three way split, take the middle (west) passage. Cross a grated floor
and take the ramp down. You'll fight more Greivvers & Shadows. Head around
to the right, then through an organic round door into the floor eating section.
The
Shadow-twisted organic floor absorbs 9 points of your flesh as you walk on it.
The floor,
can be deadly. You may wish to turn your graphics settings down. And don't
forget to heal!! Straight ahead, past the room with the corpses hanging from the
ceilings is the first lever activated door. Move directly to the left of this
door and wait on the sloped areas (still fighting Grievvers & Shadows all
the while) until the lever group is given the signal above. It's critical that
the entire group gets through the first door before buffs expire. Once the lever
has been pulled, everyone hustle through the door into the corridor. The upper
group will run down to meet up with everyone here. Gather in one of the pods
where it's safe to stand and rebuff.
The 2nd
Trigger
The
second door to be opened is across from the one everyone just came through. Once
everyone has completed their buff cycle, the first door is reopened from the
inside and the Grievvers pour in. Everyone can actually stay inside the pod
while fighting them. When the coast is clear, send out the button pusher to
trigger the 2nd door. To
get to the button, head through the SE door. Go straight, then head to the
right. You'll run through several corridors and over uneven ground until you
reach a chamber. The button is high up on the wall to your left. Be careful not
to lose your way back! If the door closes behind you, you'll need someone from
the group to open it from the other side, and they may be reluctant to venture
out into danger after going through that 2nd door which only stays open for a
limited time!
The
Sepulcher of the Hopeslayer
When
you've made it through the 2nd door, you'll be standing on a ledge overlooking
the final room. A purple mist is ahead and the Grievvers and Shadows swarm
around on the ground below like angry ants. It's that time again.
Buff like you've never buffed before. Once again, all 7
life protects. Expect to die. When everyone is ready, start the Imperils.
Then... jump! One strategy is to
jump in waves. Choose a victim to be the initial target and some buffed melees
to be the first wave a second or two later. Mages are to continuously heal while
they do some initial clearing. The 2nd wave of Melees and Archers jump next to
help finish off the nasties, then the mages join below once the danger is past.
Everyone should move towards the South section of the final room, near the altar
and statues. Mages
can shift-jump on top of the statues to heal and imperil from above in relative
safety. Try to stay in that south alcove. If you venture out into the main room,
you will draw Grievvers and Shadows from above to you.
In addition to the 6-8 Bane Grievvers and ~4 Umbris
Shadows, A Shadow of Black Ferah (level 153) also spawns. When Black Ferah is
killed, the Blood of the Hopeslayer spawns on the corpse lying on the altar, the
remains of Ilservian Palacost.
As Black Ferah
falls, you hear a cold, contemptuous voice declare, "Do with the blood as
they will, outlander. My true form stays close to my master, who you cannot
kill!"
Now it's just
a "simple" matter of camping and killing, and buffing and imperiling
and so forth. The spawn occurs every 4 minutes or so, so it's not too bad a wait
for everyone who needs the Blood (the Blood may not be dropped or given). When
everyone has their prize, recall out! (There is a surface portal on the opposite
side on the final room.) The Blood of the Hopeslayer is an infusion for the Sword
of Lost Light. Once you infuse your sword, you may no longer add any of
the other available infusions. Most people have chosen to first infuse their
swords with the Red, White & Blue Fire Infusions before using the
Blood of the Hopeslayer on their blades. The Helm & Staff of the
Lightbringer were one time rewards crafted from shards found on a corpse after
the defeat of the Hopeslayer. The names of the six shards are Herald, Frore,
Nexus, Fenmalain, Caulnalain, and Shendolain.
