The Crucible

Requires access to adventure pack A list of all adventure packs : Ruins of Gianthold

The Crucible serves as a deadly and dangerous proving ground for aspirants of the Storm's Fist.

The Crucible
Heroic level:	14
Epic level:	None
Duration:	Very Long
Heroic XP:	♣4,596 Solo/Casual  ♦8,380 Normal  ♥8,740 Hard  ♠9,100 Elite
Epic XP:	N/A
Takes place in:	The Crucible
NPC contact:	Jorgundal ar'Grund
Quest acquired in:	Gianthold
Patron:	Agents of Argonnessen
Base favor:	8
Free to Play:	No
Extreme Challenge:	No
The Crucible map (legend )
Second Map
Third Map
Fourth Map
Fifth Map

Loading screen

Overview

Jorgundal, leader of the Storm's Fist Brigade told you, 'So, you wish to join the Storm's Fist Brigade. You look pretty scrawny, but no worry, if you fail, it will at least give the boys some sport. Head to the Crucible inside Gianthold. There you'll find my personal training ground. Pass and you'll be an official member.'

• Prior to Update 17, completing the quest will make you a member of the Storm's Fist Brigade and opened a teleport option into the Gianthold wilderness. Update 17 revised Gianthold and all flagging quests, removing "The Crucible" as a flagging quest for the raid, "The Reaver's Fate." You no longer need to run this quest to flag for "The Reaver's Fate." You must now run "A Cabal for One", "Madstone Crater" and "Prison of the Planes" to flag for "Gianthold Tor" and open the Heroic raid. The Epic counterpart for "The Fall of Truth" uses the same locales with renamed versions of these same quests, such as "Return to Cabal for One".

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Spoiler Warning: Information below this point can be considered spoiler material!

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Objectives

• Speak to Jorgundal, commander of the Storm's Fist
• Speak to the champions, then return to Jorgundal
  • (Optional) Convince Vrall the Fearless to betray Harza Ghost Waker: (5% of base XP)
  • (Optional) Get the sabotaged map from Daggertooth: (5% of base XP)
  • (Optional) Give the sabotaged map to Gorn Gut-Chewer: (5% of base XP)
  • (Optional) Trick Daggertooth into searching for the poisoned treasure: (5% of base XP)
  • (Optional) Bribe the kobold gatekeeper to 'lose' Daggertooth's armor: (10% of base XP)
• Find the Horn of Cunning
• Find the Horn of Agility
• Find the Horn of Instinct
• Find the Horn of Endurance
• Fight your way to the Arena of Power
• Defeat the Storm's Fist champions in the Arena
• Speak to Jorgundal about joining the Storm's Fist Horde

What to Expect

• Traps (fixed, some undisarmable)
• Collapsible floors
• Overlapping floors
• Maze (fixed layout)
• Spawning/respawning monsters
• Puzzle (mandatory: puzzle wheels)

Known Traps

Many:

• Multi-elemental triggered when you pick up the horn of cunning (Can be disabled)
• Huge amount of mechanical traps to test you in the trial of agility (Cannot be disabled)
• Spinning blade traps to kill your if you fail the test of instinct (Cannot be disabled)
• Spike traps to impale you if you perform poorly in the test of endurance (Cannot be disabled)

Tips and Misc

A good group for this quest includes a rogue with high reflex save, characters with high intimidate and diplomacy (22 for hard and elite) and one character with low wisdom.

• Talk to the Champions: Daggertooth (gnoll) requires diplomacy (20 Norm, 22 Hard and Elite) and gives you a map. Vrall the Fearless (hobgoblin) also requires diplomacy (Epic Elite: d20 + diplomacy >= 69). Then give Gorn Gut-Chewer (orc) the map, high intimidate (20 Norm, 22 Hard and Elite) grants you extra information from him. Then bluff Daggertooth (Epic Elite: d20 + bluff >= 57).

• Test of Cunning: This is a very confusing maze with three levers controlling doors. This is made worse by the mobs on top of the walls tossing spells down at you. The Horn of Cunning is in the central room, you will need to find 3 crests (bat, scorpion and snake) and put them in sockets in order to unlock it. Be aware, the floor will collapse when you pickup the horn.

• Bribe the kobold gatekeeper to 'lose' Daggertooth's armor
  • Requires diplomacy (15 Norm, 22 Hard and Elite)

• Test of Agility: This is a timed run. One person should stay outside and pull the lever. The second person enters, must run through 2 rooms filled with traps, and pass the door in the second room before the white light goes out. Once you make it, wait for door to close before taking the Horn of Dexterity to prevent a condition where you are trapped. Evasion makes it easier but this can be done by any class, with good twitch skills. A shrine is available at this point.
  • Tip: Target the horn, then jump and hit E to pick it up in mid air to avoid the initial traps.
  • If the test is failed: All players inside must exit for it to reset.
  • Only the player who is making the run should enter. The rest should wait outside near the switch.
  • Bug: If you are too quick, you can lock yourself inside the room with the horn, as picking it up will toggle the door, and thus close it if it is still open. To prevent this, simply wait at the horn until the door closes, then pick it up, which will trigger the traps and open the door.
    • Workaround: If you are locked in the room with the Horn, let one of the traps kill you, you can resurrect yourself at the nearby shrine. This will open the door and allow you to try again, next time ensure the door is closed before you get the horn. If the traps have stopped and you have no way of dying, recall out of the quest and re-enter, the door will open and horn will drop at your feet and you'll be able to try again. Do not attempt to manually drop the horn - you cannot, you will just destroy it and permanently break the quest.

• Cracking down path: The floor through this hallway will collapse in sections as you move through it. A Kobold will show you the way when you've successfully gotten the map at the beginning, making this much easier. You must allow him to approach the path before any players do for this to work. You will also need to fight some orcs on the way.

• Test of Instinct: Horn of Instinct is inside 1 of the 6 doors. The Tome at the center will give you hints, according to your wisdom score. One method is to get a member with lowest wisdom (usually classes like fighter) and have him/her read the tome. Do the OPPOSITE of what the book hints at. The lowest wis score gets a false hint, the other party members get a truthful one
  on elite 12 wis (not lowest of party) got false hint, roll of 30 failed trap

• Upper area of the maze: You will have to clear the gnoll casters before you can do anything here. (watch out for their Sleet Storm!) Once the room is clear, one player should go to the lever in southeast corner, the rest of the party should go to the colored wheels in the other corners (Red, Blue, Green). Once the party is ready, the first player should pull the lever, and the gems above the runes will light up (Red, Blue, Green). The wheels at each corner of the room will need to be set to the rune under its color. This must be completed before the runes reset. At least on normal, one player can run and set the wheels if they run fast. You have about 30 seconds before the door checks to see if all 3 wheels are correct.
  • Pulling the lever at the north entrance resets all wheels to the 'F' rune. When the southeast lever is pulled, count from the left to where the colored light is, then subtract one that's how many clicks the matching colored wheel needs to make. When all the wheels match the runes at the southwest lever, the gate opens

• Test of Endurance: You have to swim through an underwater tunnel filled with spikes. The Horn of Endurance and a key for a locked chest is guarded by a group of gnolls. Letting a rogue or caster type solo/duo this is a typical strategy (sneak past them or hypnotize them and leave). There is a stuck point to the right of the gnolls which you don't want to jump into. This part is great with a strong swimmer, there are many spikes and very difficult. You can also Dimension Door out if you're a mage-type after you get the horn.
  • Underwater Water-flow Control Valve: Underwater , in the river you have to pass through to get to the Test of Agility, in the southwest corner there is in a small alcove, (behind some stone pillars) with a valve. Using this valve stops the flow of water making the swim through an underwater tunnel easier for the swimmers during the Test of Endurance. The valve resets every ~10 seconds, stationing a party member there is required to monitor and use the valve again when the water flow starts. Using the valve can make the Test of Endurance more manageable if your party is having trouble with the swim. Caution: If the party member misses the opening to the valve they may be sucked to their death by the giant fan which controls the water flow.

• Fight them in the Arena: There are a lot of mobs on the way to the arena. Don't use charm spells, as clearing them all is required. (Or use charm spells and dispel charms one at a time). Then shrine up, go in the arena, firewall bosses, then talk to the giant to get credit. Get chests and that's about it.
  • These aren't respawns, there are no true respawns in the quest. They are simply sent out in waves to fight you, and will stop once you kill them all.
• If your group knows trick and is experienced, this quest has potential to be faster loot run than The Prison of the Planes.

Solo Notes:

• This quest can be soloed with a hireling. If you know how to navigate the maze, have the hireling hold ground at each lever and set them to Passive stance to prevent them from running around and attacking the Windlashers above. Important: Make sure Auto-targeting is disabled or you can easily trap yourself behind the doors! Keep each switch you need to turn selected and order the hireling to turn it. You will have to pick up the crests manually using the mouse. Make sure your final exit path is clear using the map or you will trap yourself in.
• If you die during the swim, you can call your hireling to you. The cleric and FvS hirelings are able to raise you underwater.

Bonus XP

• Tamper bonus: 2 traps disarmed +8% Bonus.( ♣385 ♦670 ♥699 ♠728 )
• Mischief bonus: 119 breakables smashed +8% Bonus.( ♣385 ♦670 ♥699 ♠728 )
• Vandal bonus: 155 breakables smashed +10% Bonus.( ♣481 ♦838 ♥874 ♠910 )
• Ransack bonus: 190 breakables smashed +15% Bonus.( ♣722 ♦1,257 ♥1,311 ♠1,365 )

Loot

• Chests: 5
  • 1 in the NE corner of the maze
  • 1 locked in an underwater cave (opened by key only, the key is found near the Horn of Endurance, in an adjacent cave)
  • 3 at the end

• NPC rewards: Standard, Select from 10, Up to 13 level accessories, up to 12 level weapons and armors.

Monsters

Monster Information

• Arzag-Khor Loremasters
• Arzag-Khor Shamans
• Cloven-Jaw Veterans
• Cloven-Jaw Warlords
• Windlasher Elementalists
• Windlasher Pack Lords
• Windlasher Rippers
• Windlasher Runners
• Windlasher Soul Howlers
• Wyrm Cult Eviscerators
• Wyrm Cult Heresiarchs
• Wyrm Cult Impalers
• Wyrm Cult Sacrificers

Named Monsters:

• Daggertooth - Red-named gnoll; end boss
• Gorn Gut-Chewer - Red-named orc; end boss
• Harza Ghost-Waker - Red-named hobgoblin; end boss
• Vrall the Fearless - Red-named hobgoblin; end boss