MMO Gamers

As I said in my last post I had so much fun in Black Castle that our group intended on getting back there at some point.  As it turned out, that point was the very next day, and I once again headed in there with our Conqueror Keiry, Daccus the Barbarian, Delphiae the Tempest, and myself on Dyones, the Priest.  We filled out the group with another Barbarian and a Demonologist, all ranging from 30-33.

Last time we wiped when we hit upstairs, but this time, with a couple of extra levels on everyone, the going was a bit easier.  We still didn’t finish any quests but we did work our way through the three we had, but just couldn’t quite finish them.  The main difference with this run is that we did hit the upstairs section and this is where the dungeon really starts to shine.  Not only is it an interesting layout, picturesque, and with fun mobs, it also has some puzzles to figure out before you can continue.

The first puzzle we came upon and one that saw three of the party killed was a hall that was aflame.  We figured out how to turn off the flames, by standing on top of some floor tiles, but our enthusiasm led us to all run for the other end, only to have the flames start once again as soon as we stepped off the tiles.  A quick rez and a moment’s thought and we figured there must be identical tiles at the other end.  So two had to stand at one end to quell the flames while another two ran to the other end and stood on the tiles there.  Easy.

The next puzzle we came across featured a large mural on the wall featuring an eye.  The eye seemed to light up the room and we had to kill the Guardian of the Eye or something, a serpent thing.  We were hitting the thing and it was not taking any damage, and then, lightbulb moment, we had to destroy the eye.  So being one of the casters in our group I took out the eye and then the serpent went down without any fuss.

The Eye

The next problem we faced was killing one of the Bosses for our quest, Fenyang.  After killing all the mobs around him we pulled the Boss.  Much like the Serpent of the Eye, Fenyang wasn’t taking any damage.  At the same time as we pulled him, minions started appearing and plunging themselves into a great bottomless pit that was in the centre of the room.  We realized that whenever a minion plummeted into the pit, the Boss would heal.  The minions aren’t epic mobs so it only takes one DPS at each stairway (two entrances) taking out minions before they make it to the pit.  Finishing off Fenyang wasn’t a problem after that.  Alas, when we got to the body parts puzzle, we were missing one crystal so couldn’t complete the quest.  We headed back to find another but had a wipe, it was getting late, and the party decided to call it a night.

I’d still love to get back there again and finish it off, and there is still one quest Boss we didn’t come across that needs to feel the edge of my blade.  Black Castle was a total blast and I gained two levels in that run alone and I’m now sitting at 34 and am just about ready to hit Sanctum.

Fenyang