Hi all. ToV raids are supposed to be beginning soon, and I have nothing to do at work. So for those of you unfamiliar with the zone, I will run over the basics of the raids for ya.
First off, getting there: When the raid is called, everyone meet wherever we are porting from (most likely PoK) RIGHT AWAY. This particular raid, because of the route to getting there, provides a big pain when porters have to come back for late arrivals. Your porter will port you to CS (Cobalt Scar). STAY WITH THEM. You will get SoE/lev and invis and will run to the entrance of SG(Siren's Grotto), which is in the Northwest corner under the water in CS. There are Siren's (enchanters) at the entrance to SG, who will charm/mez you, which may be a problem underwater if you don't have EB. They do not see invis.
Map of CS:
Once inside SG, DO NOT GO ANYWHERE. Wait for your porter to arrive. Once your entire group is at the entrance, your porter will evac to the other side of the zone. After evacing, you can zone safely into WW(Western Wastes).
Map of SG:
Once inside WW, there are only a few things to worry about if you are non-KoS to CoV. Dragons roam the zone, lots of them. If you have been to some of the Kael raids or killed any +CoV mobs in your days, you should be fine, and since we have been working on this faction for an inordinate amount of time, this should not be a problem. Some of the few hostile things will be Velium Hounds, which are quite quick and have an incredibly long chasing range, meaning no matter how far you get, they will keep chasing you. Ice Burrowers are another nasty mob. They are giant worm-like things, and it is the dispell proc you must look out for.
After entering WW and invising, you will run north, around the ravine that leads to Dragon Necropolis (which is a potentially lethal fall), and continue on to the next cliff, which you can either jump off and float down if you have lev/SoE, or can go around to the slope down if you don't want to make a jump. (check the map below for details)
Map of WW: Follow the raid to the ToV entrance, a nice big angry dragon will be waiting for you there named Sontalak. Again, if you are non-KoS to CoV, you can cruise right past him. Part Two: OK, now we're inside, time to get to the Halls of Testing. Remember, do NOT attack ANYTHING until directly told to do so. Here is a map of ToV: To the right hand side of the map, you see HoT. It begins with the two red dots, indicating KoS mobs. For a better map that I can't stick into a picture, Click Here Follow the raid until you reach HoT. Make sure you do EXACTLY what the raidleader says. Although the mobs outside HoT are non-KoS, they WILL assist the KoS mobs, which will in all probability, wipe the raid. This is a map of the HoT specifically: Follow the key, shows static, wandering, and named mobs. Part Three: Mobs, loot, and quests. It is important to pay attention and listen during the raid...pulls, your assist target, the MT, etc will all be discussed. The raid basics MUST be followed on this raid, its not just another Kael hit. Assist calls will be awaited, the raid channel will be quiet, buffs will be given to you, you will turn off attack on enrage, etc. Mobs: The mobs do not differ all that much in melee. Almost all of them hit between mid-200's and mid-300's. Many have AE's, some more annoying than dangerous, some can be potentially lethal if you are unprepared. Slime Mist is a particularly annoying AE, as it slows all the melee. Dozekar the Cursed could be considered the "Boss" mob of HoT. Level 66 Dragon, he drops assorted "tears" used in many quests that start in ToV itself, most of which have great rewards which will be discussed below. Hits hard, but is slowable. Has a truckload of HP's, and an AE nuke + one buff dispell that is unresistable Quests: Skyshrine Armor Quests involve Unadorned Armors from HoT. Much like the Thurg armor quests, the Unadorned Armor is handed into the quest mobs in Skyshrine along with the corresponding gems to yield a piece of armor. Some of this is quite good, and some is lacking slightly. Some examples of the Skyshrine Quest armor: There also quests acquired from within ToV itself, most of which include one of several "tears" acquired from Dozekar. These are harder but better than the Skyshrine quests, and include some great items such as... 41% haste item Great INT caster range (there is a WIS caster equivalent) And others, including more 40%+ haste items and hp regen items. These quests, however, are quite difficult, but attending enough of the raids can and will get you your item. For example, the White Dragon Idol quest recquires a Platinum Tear from Dozekar, and three symbols from named mobs in the HoT. Well, that about covers HoT, and that is enough out of me. Cya at the Temple, all
