Not so badass anymore...

Before we start today, I just want to ask about one thing. What the hell is up with that torch?

It's sitting there every damn time I walk into the Facility hub. It has no reason at all to be there. At first I thought it was just some newb being a litterbug, but it's there every damn time I come through, which means it must be either static or spawning there. WHY? I mean, this is not a dungeon where it makes sense to have trash spawned all over the place. And even a newb can see clearly that a torch is f'in useless for anything. It's not good for anything, and it's not adding anything to the look or lore of the dungeon either. It's just a tiny piece of junk sitting on the floor, looking like junk. It serves absolutely no purpose except to annoy me. WHY THE HELL IS IT THERE?!?!

...

Anyway:

Mite Maze

I remember exactly two things about mites from my previous visits to Dereth: they make this annoying-as-hell noise, and I can't figure out if they're supposed to be wolfmen or bipedal rats. The irritation factor suggests the latter. I don't remember them being terribly difficult, so I walk into the dungeon expecting a fairly simple hack n'slash affair.

I die in the first room.

It wasn't the mites, though. It was the Gold Pynthos Wasps, who not only have some brutal War Magic, but spam said War Magic. After blinking at my screen in disbelief, I head right back in, this time buffed with Lugian gems. It's a rough fight in the first room, but I kill the Wasps and a few Mites who join the fun, loot all corpses including my own, and head on in having learned not to take this dungeon for granted.

That turns out to be a very valuable lesson. Mites hit harder and faster in melee than any enemies I've met so far. They also seem to be very hard to hit. I stay alive, but this is not the only problem. The dungeon is supremely confusing. I stick to the right-hand wall, but still wind up turned around and lost. Eventually, I run out of potions and have to /lifestone. Annoyed, I get a map at the wiki and marvel at the lengths Turbine went to to make this dungeon a pain in the ass. I figure out a simple route that will get me to the treasures I need. (Two of them, in different rooms.) I then re-supply, go back, and promptly get killed by the wasps in the first room. Again.

Eff this.

The Mountain Sewer

The Warden warns me of Zefirs, and advises that skillful use of the walls will help minimize the damage. I knew this already, but it at least helps me prepare. The Zefirs come in two varieties, green and red, and the warden overrates them. Green is barely worth mentioning. Red keeps me on my toes a bit with War Magic, but is still easily beatable. Neither is the real threat. Delving deeper, I find rats in large groups, which are a toll on my stamina and wear me down with their numbers. But these are merely softening me up for the true masters of the dungeon: The Risen.

The Risen are basically zombies, but instead of War Magic, they have melee brawn. I have the upper hand in a one-on-one fight, but of course that's not what I get. They come at me in large groups, and while I win the battles with little trouble, they're taking a toll on my potion stash. The fights are also time-consuming, which means that I can't loot everything or else the spawn timer will catch me.

Right at the point where the Risen start showing up, the dungeon splits into three branches. Down one, I find a large room filled with Risen and Liches. Down another is something unusual: a human encampment.

A bunch of NPC shopkeepers have a nice little village going here; protected behind a steel gate, they have separate rooms with amenities, and even a lifestone. Bit of a rat problem, but nothing I can't handle. I have to wonder why they're here; did Turbine have some kind of idea for this place and it just didn't pan out? AC was originally built partially on the idea that players would keep secrets from one another and that trust would be an issue. That's why in the early days you had weird features like the spell economy and the lack of secure trade. Maybe they intended this place to be found by some inquisitive PvPer and then used as a secret base of operations for his allegiance? It's a pretty cool idea, when you think of it. A pity it didn't turn out quite like the devs expected.

In any event, third time's the charm and after a few more Risen I find the treasure room. On the floor is an Arbalast (Crossbow) that the Warden wants, but more interesting is a pile of mysterious gems over in the corner:

Now, who do we know that understands Empyrean writing? That's right, our old friend Brentself, who has quite a lot to say about my little find.

Essentially, these gems belong to Asheron himself, and are the result of failed experiments. The gems are dangerous, but apparently Asheron can't destroy them or keep them nearby, so instead he dumps them in the sewer like toxic waste. Between this and the weird plate in the Folthid Celler, it seems like Asheron is planning something big. What, I wonder? Well, no, I don't wonder, since I've read the writeup on the wiki, but I won't ruin the surprise.

All in all, this is a good dungeon. It's tough, but fair. I had to recall and resupply a few times, but careful play ensured that I never died. Unlike the Mite Maze, which struck me as being in the wrong room of the facility.

Speaking of which...

Mite Maze, take 2

Having obtained a good chunk of experience at the Mountain Sewer, I amp up my magic defense by 40 points before returning to the Mite Maze. This is enough that I'm able to resist 95% of the Wasps lightning spam. The Mites, however, are still a problem, and I'm chugging potions all the way to the final room. Above, you see the boss: the Mite Warrior Queen. To make a very long story short, I eventually get out with both the treasures I was sent for, but not before dying twice more. There was also a somewhat comical scene involving me being chased all over the maze like a Benny Hill sketch because I ran out of potions. By the time I'm done, I am frustrated, annoyed, and satisfied that I have absolutely no reason to return here, like, ever.

Adding insult to injury, Turbine has rather arbitrarily decided that I'm the asshole in this situation.

Screw you too, lore-writer.

Although, on the subject, I find a somewhat interesting piece of Lore in the Queen's chamber. It's a letter from Queen Elysa to Altar Locke. It doesn't say anything of use, but it's an interesting window into the personality our Queen. (While I'm too lazy to look it up, it's possible that this is also the first in-game mention of Borelean Strathelar.)

But yeah, Mite Maze is total B.S., and I'm glad to be out of there.

Mnemosyne Collection Site

I list this "dungeon" mainly for completeness' sake, as it's really more of an obnoxiously off-the-beaten-path home for three collectors. Over the course of a few undead dungeons, I've wound up with a number of Mnemosynes, and I took a quick break to redeem them. This involves first grinding Wood Golems around the Folthid Cellar for awhile, then using my mad lockpick skills to fashion the Wood Hearts into key, which unlock the Mnemosynes. Then I take them here, where the collector gives me decent amounts of experience. Fun.

Quarterstaff of Fire, Skeleton Fort, Suntik (Aboveground quests)

I put these three together because they're all pretty much the same thing: there's a bunch of mobs on some spot in the overworld, holding a weapon of import. Portal in, kill ppl, portal out. Pretty basic. I try Suntik first, but after holding my own against both Wasps and Monougas, I get clobbered by an Unruly who hits HARD. As in, like, double digits. I die, say "Eff that", and move on to the Quarterstaff of Fire, held by a group of Banderlings at a random spot out in the wilderness.The staff is literally on the first enemy I strike down, and it's crappy. At least the experience is good.

The Skeleton Fort is the most substantial of them. The portal drops me off at an arena-like fort which is overrun with Skeleton Lords. The boss is pictured above. Note the axe in his head. Some adventurer out of Arwic was trying to take this fort, and did a pretty good job until his axe got stuck in the Skeleton's head. My job is to get it back. The Skeleton Lords are pretty simple, but near the far end of the fort I encounter more challenging Wraiths. I get a little clever and take cover behind the stairs leading up to the ramparts, which blocks their War Magic. Then I get a little more clever and take cover in one of the towers, which does the same thing but makes their inevitable charge easier to handle.

Returning the axe to Jacob in Arwic gets me a special helm that is actually quite nice. It has two useful enchantments and a 295 AL. However, since I've already got those enchantments at higher levels on my existing gear, I stick with the Superior Helm. Besides, this one looks dumb as hell:

Even with helms set to invisible, I wouldn't get caught with that on.

After that it's back to Suntik to try for the Acid Axe again. After getting clobbered last time, I decide on a new strategy: Avoid the Unruly Monouga, use the environment to separate the others. I should probably mention that Suntik is an abandoned mountaintop town:

This is good for me, since it means lots of doors and walls to use against the Monougas. I beat down the guards hanging around outside, pull a few groups away from the center of town, then, feeling that's as good as it's gonna get, I dash for one of the houses. I make it inside ahead of the Unruly, who bangs his head against the wall for a while until he gives up. Meanwhile inside, I deal with his underlings with little trouble. I scan for the Acid Axe and find it in a weapon shop literally right across the street from where I've hunkered down.  I dash across the street, shut the door, deal with the Monouga inside, and viola, the Axe is mine!

And that was the week. While I had fun, multiple deaths at both Suntik and the Mite Maze are a signal that the game won't be easy anymore. I'll have to give serious thought to where I put my experience from here on out.

Also, while the new format is working, the new schedule isn't. By the time the week's over, I've forgotten about what I did at the beginning. So now I'm thinking two posts a week, maybe.

My current stats: