The Challenge Area[G5]

[Najob CiKrk Zerep]

How do you reach the challenge area? I finished the game, and want to test my character against the best.

[Lilith]

You need two access crystals. One is in a locked room on the north end of Kayal's Spire and one is in Bennhold's hideout. You'll know the crystals when you see them: they're bright pink.

 

Once you have both crystals, you can enter the building in the southeast of the Okavano Barrier area (the one that's guarded by war tralls). The challenge area spans two full zones and is quite hard, so make sure you're prepared. Between the time I entered and the time I cleared it out, I'd used about 30 essence pods.

[Randomizer]

That's because you weren't willing to go back to town and recharge/sell off the loot. It's a pain because you get bugged by Preya both ways.

[Lilith]

Normally I would have gone back to recharge, but I wasn't in the mood to walk across two whole zones to get out, and where else am I going to need 76 essence pods?

[Najob CiKrk Zerep]

How do you find Benhold's Hideout? I've looked for it but have yet to find it.

[Delicious Vlish]

You have to find clue that will tell you where it is. Thorny woods I think By the river. Follow the bouncing servile.

[Najob CiKrk Zerep]

I found thistlewood if that's what you mean, but i cleared that place out and didn't find an access crystal or Benhold.

[Delicious Vlish]

If you clear it out and look in a chest, it will give you a clue of where to look next.

[Randomizer]

Thistlewood is where you find a message about Bennhold's Keep if you are doing the Hunt the River Bandits quest. The access crystal is in Bennhold's bedroom.

[Lilith]

Bennhold's Keep is a secret zone in the far southwest of the Dera Reaches. You have to track him down by talking to the captain of the guard in each city along the way and following up on their clues about bandit activity.

[Najob CiKrk Zerep]

Okay, thank you, I missed the hint the first time through Thistlewood.

[Alorael at Large]

Originally Posted By: Thuryl

Normally I would have gone back to recharge, but I wasn't in the mood to walk across two whole zones to get out, and where else am I going to need 76 essence pods?

I find this to be an acceptable time to use "rechargeme" and "healmenow" as a substitute for watching several loading screens.

 

—Alorael, who would also be editor banking if he ever hit the gold cap in G5. He hasn't really had that problem since A3, though. Jeff has made money much more valuable since then.

[Lyric]

Originally Posted By: Rotdhizons in my longjohns

Jeff has made money much more valuable since then.

so the financial crisis has hit spidweb software too, huh?



-Mythrael, who wonders how/when did Alorael begin to use this signature style.


Note that this is the first and last time when Mythrael copies Alorael's sig, and i'm also curious on why i can't use an em dash like Al( pressing alt and then typing 0151 only produces a string of characters).
Seems that i ca't even copy the mighty Al

[Alorael at Large]

I've had this signature since I started posting on Spiderweb in March 2001. Actually, I've used it longer than that on earlier and defunct forums, but it was on Spiderweb that I started using it constantly rather than for effect. Opinions of the gimmickry range from tolerant to enraged.

 

—Alorael, who can't help you with attempts at imitation and wouldn't if he could, as his signature is his and his alone. He will, however, admit that being able to hit shift-option-dash on a Mac makes it much easier.

[jlsgaladriel]

Okay, I feel incredibly stupid, but I thought it was time for the challenge areas, so I've reloaded an old game, slaughtered everything in kayar's spire, and searched the place high and low for an access crystal.

 

I see a slider door in the north, just east of the room which had spire researchers, gazers, and war tralls... It won't open. I've even tried all the stupid things

Click to reveal..

like for example shutting all the doors, locking myself in for steamy death

, but I can't seem to figure out how to get the darned thing open.

 

Am I missing another lever? Hidden, I assume, behind a pillar? Somewhere?

[Lilith]

Unless I'm horribly mistaken, the lever is right next to the door. It's not hidden or anything. If it's too dark to see it, use a candle or something.

[jlsgaladriel]

Oh, it looked like part of the bookcase. I can't *believe* I couldn't find it, but thank you -- because for some reason I just couldn't see it.

[Øther]

Ya know... I can give you some help here. For people who want in, but can't get the acess crystals, or for beginers who want to find a quick death, try shift d and then typing sdf 33 13 1 and then the door shall open.

[ewan]

Sammann - argh. Cost me all but one of my creations - in retrospect I might have been better off leaving them out of the line of fire, as I relied mostly on charming his creations.

 

By far most annoying: after having taken down his pylons (and *boy* did that take a long time) he still 'healed from his pylons'!!

 

And never seemed to shift into 'green' mode - only once, in a one-hour real-time battle, and only for two rounds. So after the pylons going down didn't faze him, I had to go outside - then he fell rapidly. Odd!

 

[And yes, Ghaldring was a walkover in comparison. That was the second most-annoying attribute: that the final battle was anticlimatic.]

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: ewan

By far most annoying: after having taken down his pylons (and *boy* did that take a long time) he still 'healed from his pylons'!!

Why did you do that? How did you do that? The pylons really aren't meant to be killed until after S-dawg is dead.

Quote:

[And yes, Ghaldring was a walkover in comparison. That was the second most-annoying attribute: that the final battle was anticlimatic.]

Final battles in Spiderweb games are intentionally balanced to be relatively easy so that people can actually see the ending even if they're not great at the game.

[ewan]

Originally Posted By: Thuryl

Originally Posted By: ewan

By far most annoying: after having taken down his pylons (and *boy* did that take a long time) he still 'healed from his pylons'!!

Why did you do that? How did you do that? The pylons really aren't meant to be killed until after S-dawg is dead.

Patience, grasshopper ;-).

OK, that's facile but true: As to how, basically burned through 50-odd essence pods. Charmed every creature, most of whom then attacked the pylons and absorbed Sammann's attacks. [Most effective were War Thralls]. Why? Well, didn't try 'go outside the dome' often/early enough, and Sammann seemed to run back inside and heal too easily. So, given the message -'draws healing energy from the pylons' - it seemed logical to knock them down. [After the first one went down, the second was faster, just as well given that I think I was down to 2 companions at that point.]

Originally Posted By: Thuryl

Originally Posted By: ewan

[And yes, Ghaldring was a walkover in comparison. That was the second most-annoying attribute: that the final battle was anticlimatic.]

Final battles in Spiderweb games are intentionally balanced to be relatively easy so that people can actually see the ending even if they're not great at the game.

Oh, I know; not really a complaint. This was my first run-through, played as a Taygen slave for the sheer horror, and I was impressed with the level of custom text at the end; now to go find more palatable endings!

[Randomizer]

I found luring Sammann outside is easier since you don't have to waste attacks on the pylons that are almost completely damage resistant. When I killed Sammann, the pylons were destroyed.

 

Jeff really makes the expert area much harder than anything else in the game.

[Eigenvalue]

Just wondering, did anyone manage to beat the challenge area solo, without any help of the creations?

[Lilith]

Randomizer tried it but wasn't quite able to do damage faster than Sammann could heal. It's theoretically possible, but would require a lot of luck. It's probably more feasible on lower difficulties.

[Randomizer]

I tried with an agent and a guardian on torment. Sammann is marginal for the guardian since I could withstand the damage, but couldn't always charm his creations. The agent could charm, but didn't have the health to withstand too many attacks. With the right build I think a solo could do it.

[Eigenvalue]

This probably belongs to a different thread, but what is the "right build" for a solo? In some sense I am asking the expert minmaxing players to add an infiltrator guide to the strategy central. I would be hugely interested as to what I could have done better.

[Quiconque]

*Has* anybody done the challenge area on Torment without creations? Randomizer said he didn't think it was possible. It probably is somehow, but it may not be very practical to do.

 

Although creations are not as overpowered in G5 as in G1 and G3, singletons are weaker as well; I think the mechanics reward having creations more than in any previous game.

[Delicious Vlish]

I've done the challenge area. On torment. Alone. And I wouldn't want to do it again.

 

Servile who could shape through items. But I found out quickly that my creations didn't last long in the first area, the one with the trap and the drakon and such... They died to quickly to be useful so I just went at it alone.

 

Build was high mental magic, high combat skills, with battle magic mostly gained through items, although the only battle spell I really used was acid shower.

 

Weapon was the Oozing Blade, augmented with a steel spine. Also a compliment of batons of various types.

 

Not having creations was actually an asset. My limited essence reserves (rather lowish intelligence for such a magic heavy build) were available for charm.

 

All of my physical stats, str, dex, int, end, all of those, they were taken to 9ish or 10ish, basically, when it started to cost more than 5 points to add the next point, I stopped upgrading.

 

I burned through 70 something essence pods during the Sammann fight, and then because I was angry and determined to make him die, I was forced to resort to 'rechargeme' to keep essence flowing. Healing wasn't so much of an issue. I took damage, sure, but my life was never in any real danger. I just had to keep charming stuff though. Had I not done that, I'd probably have been in some real physical danger.

 

I didn't bother wasting my precious baton ammo on him. I charmed his summons and then stabbed him many many many many many times with the Oozing blade augmented with a steel spine. It was more annoying than anything else really.

 

The eye tyrant up there in the corner of the island though, he was more dangerous than Sammann in all honesty. I very nearly died in that encounter. Also, the wormy rotter-thingamajig put me in more physical danger than Sammann. Just to much incoming damage to deal with.

 

Sammann was just a very long and grueling fight. The other fights were shorter, but were actually more dangerous, at least in my experience.

 

Had over 1000 health. High armor values. A few artifacts worn, some bits were stuffed with crystals which added protection, magic resist, etc.

 

With the right items, I think a pure warrior type might be able to do it, even with out charm, but it would be fiendishly difficult. You need turtle status to do this. I doubt an agent or an infiltrator could this, or even a fragile servile build.

 

Oh, that reminds me, for the island, I actually took off my gauntlets that boosted my battle magic way up and put on the gloves that give 4 endurance. The extra health was needed.

[Randomizer]

My guardian stab that spectral gazer to death, but he had over 800 health and near maximum armor. I really should have kept those kyshakks around and charmed them.

 

Sammann was just too hard for a sole guardian. I needed a few rounds to weaken him with rothgroths before I came in and stabbed him to death. Charm is needed for every fight on the last zone.

 

The easiest way to deal with Sammann is surround him with glaahks and stun him into no attacks. All you have to do is charm his creations to keep them from attacking your forces.

 

Using up essence to charm is the main problem in this area.

[Txgangsta]

I might just try out DV's strategy for my servile i've got goin right now.