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Trial by Fire

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The Blackheart trolls inhabit this ancient cave. What horrors await within?

Ruins of Gianthold adpack icon.jpg
DDO Point icon.png Requires access to adventure pack: Ruins of Gianthold
Trial by Fire
Heroic level: 13
Epic level: 24
Duration: Long
Heroic XP:  ♣2,412Solo/Casual ♦4,206Normal ♥4,393Hard ♠4,580Elite
Epic XP:  ♣10,385Solo/Casual ♦17,841Normal ♥18,372Hard ♠18,904Elite
Takes place in: Troll Lair
Bestowed by: Walk-up
NPC contact: Krakadoom
Quest acquired in: Ruins of Gianthold
Patron: Agents of Argonnessen
Base favor: 6
Purchase: Ruins of Gianthold or VIP
Extreme Challenge: No
M trial by fire.png
Loading screen

Overview

You have located the location of the troll's underground lair in Gianthold. Enter and slay any trolls that you encounter as you make your way through the encampment.

  • Reaching Troll Encampment entrance automatically bestows quest.

Spoiler Warning: Spoiler material below this point!

Objectives

  • Explore the troll cave
  • Slay the blackheart generals (3 total)
  • Slay the blackheart leader
  • (Optional) Slay the ancient arachnid queen — Bonus (15%): Heroic( ♣362 ♦631 ♥659 ♠687 ) Epic( ♣1,558 ♦2,676 ♥2,756 ♠2,836 )

What to Expect

  • Point of no return
  • Spawning/respawning monsters
  • Locked doors; Minimum Strength: 12 required to bash down the doors.
    • You can also use Open Lock on these doors to open them quietly. It can help characters that can't break the doors, and allows you to get the jump on a group of guards, since unlocking the doors does not alert them.

Tips and Misc

Map to quest entrance, showing the path from the Storm's Heart Teleport location (blue), and the longer run from the entrance to the Wilderness (red).
  • Useful elemental buffs:
    • Normal: acid and fire
    • Hard: acid, cold, fire
  • There is only 1 shrine in this quest, just before the end fight.

Lots of spiders and trolls. This quest has overlapping floors and is difficult to explain as a walkthrough. There is a single central chamber with several levels; the tunnels loop out and back, roughly clockwise, to this chamber, higher and higher.

  • Ancient Arachnids (aka spiders) have DR 10/pierce (15 on Elite). They also have acid resist, a high Spell Resistance, and are considered vermin.
  • Fiendish Trolls are able to be dismissed and banished, but have a fairly good SR.
  • If a troll takes enough fire damage, it will stop regenerating for a while. This works on every troll type, though the Fiend Bloods and Blackheart Leader have fire damage reduction. High enough fire damage will still damage them and stop regenerating (for example, Artificer's Flaming weapons does not do enough fire damage to affect the Fiend Bloods, but Artificer's Flame Turret does).

Walkthrough:

  • The first objective, "Explore the troll cave", means "Slay the first two trolls in the entry hall" – this is mandatory. The way forward is left (west) from this room, hidden behind a ragged banner on the wall. (There are several such "hidden" passages in the Gianthold quests.)
  • If you run to the north end of that first hall, you can see the central chamber through a gate, but the lever on the far side is unreachable from here.
  • Just down the first side hall is a drop-down into the spider area, and a soft "point of no return" – you can get back, but not without going forward through several fights first.
  • Before you jump, look up – you can see another area above you, through a broken floor, and a shrine directly above you (and beyond your reach for now). You will be up there just before the end fight (or back here if you fall from there).
  • The way forward is to push north, west is only more spiders. The drop-down shown on the map is later and higher on the map, leading to the end fight.
  • At the first (lowest) tier of the central chamber, you will see a deep pit with lava at the bottom; there is nothing there (yet), but there is a collectable just a short way down the ramp.
  • The way forward is in the northeast corner.
  • There is a ramp that leads up to the second general, but that's a dead end (for now), and there is a faster way to get to him later.
  • (Optional) In the southeast loop, the locked portcullis style gate leads south to a chest with a bunch of spiders and the orange-named Ancient Arachnid Queen (worth +15% XP). Pulling the queen out avoids her guardians until after she's dealt with. (Lock DC).
  • Upon reaching the second tier, the Game Master announces that "The troll hurls a large bulky object into the chasm...", which turns out to be a chest† at the bottom (which was not there before). Before jumping down for that,† open the first gate on your right (to north), leading to the 2nd general, in a side passage there.
  • He likes to cast Enervation, so Death Ward is a good idea against him. When you defeat him the last general will come barreling out of hallway leading to the pit room (i.e. from the west).
  • The passage down from that gate now leads back to the second tier.
† If you plan to drop down to get the chest, know that it's a long run again around the eastern loop back up to this level, or a slightly shorter run (northwest loop) once you've opened the gate to the 2nd general.
  • (Optional) If you want Ransack, you need to take this path at some point.
  • (Optional) You can also now open the southern gate back to the entry hall (up the ramp to the west), for latecomers and pikers. (4 breakables up here too.)
  • Defeating the last general opens the way to the Troll Lair Headquarters.

To the End Fight

  • The way forward is west from the base of that ramp back up to the entrance gate. This leads to a room with a broken floor (where you looked up earlier) and some sleeping trolls in front of a low wall. Stay off the wall until you're ready for the end fight/run.
  • Use the shrine across the little break in the floor if you need it – point of no return before the end fight.
  • If you look down, you will see the spider area you first jumped down to. It's a long run if you fall here.
  • There are 2 things in the area past the low wall: a drop-down that leads to the end fight, and a large fight. Many groups will just charge the pit after using shrine, to avoid needless combat.
  • This drop-down is a true point of no return (without Dimension Door, etc.).
  • To find the pit: From the shrine area go north over the low wall (don't jump down the collapsed floor). The next room will have a crack in the floor in the northwest corner, mostly invisible until you get there. That's the pit – the drop is short, but safe from pursuers.
  • Down the pit is the end fight. This guy is a bruiser with good resists and some serious regeneration. DPS is the name of the game. Watch out for the symbol of stunning he likes to cast, and he likes to dispel as well.

Bonus XP

  • Aggression bonus: 55 or more monsters killed +10% Bonus.( ♣241 ♦421 ♥439 ♠458 )
  • Onslaught bonus: 72 or more monsters killed +15% Bonus.( ♣362 ♦631 ♥659 ♠687 )
  • Conquest bonus: 88 or more monsters killed +25% Bonus.( ♣603 ♦1,052 ♥1,098 ♠1,145 )
  • Mischief bonus: 35 or more breakables smashed +8% Bonus.( ♣193 ♦336 ♥351 ♠366 )
  • Vandal bonus: 46 or more breakables smashed +10% Bonus.( ♣241 ♦421 ♥439 ♠458 )
  • Ransack bonus: 56 or more breakables smashed +15% Bonus.( ♣362 ♦631 ♥659 ♠687 )

Loot

  • Chests: 4
    • 1 at the bottom of the main pit
    • 1 in a small room in the central area of the map (can spawn in multiple locations)
    • 1 optional behind a locked door for killing the Ancient Arachnid Queen (found in the South-east passage)
    • 1 at the end for killing Rort Rotseer (Troll)
  • Collectables: 5
    • Adventurer's Pack in first troll room past first spider hallway
    • Fungus Patch in east room
    • Fungus Patch in main troll room at top of shaft
    • Adventurer's Pack on path up fiery chasm
    • Fungus Patch in western hall
  • NPC rewards: Random item (up to 13 level accessories, up to 10 level weapons and armors)

Named Chest Drop

Jeweled Cloak - Cloak - Bound to Character on EquipIcon tooltip.pngBound to Character on Equip: This item is Bound to Character on Equip - End chest

The Mountain's Fist - Dwarven War Axe - Bound to Character on EquipIcon tooltip.pngBound to Character on Equip: This item is Bound to Character on Equip - End chest

Monsters

Name ( picture ) CR Type Race
Ancient Arachnid Queen ( view
Ancient Arachnid Queen.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♠21Elite ●♦27Epic Normal Magical Beast Spider
Ancient Arachnid ( view
Ancient arachnid.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦12Normal ♥14Hard ♠17Elite Vermin Spider
Bertoz ( view
Bertoz.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦16Normal ♠21Elite ●♦27Epic Normal Giant Troll
Blackheart Fiend-Blood ( view
Blackheart Fiend-Blood.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦15Normal ♥17Hard ♠20Elite ●♦25Epic Normal Giant Troll
Blackheart Oracle ( view
Blackheart Oracle.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦12Normal ♥14Hard ♠17Elite Giant Troll
Blackheart Pathfinder ( view
Blackheart Pathfinder.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦12Normal ♥14Hard ♠17Elite ●♦25Epic Normal ●♥29Epic Hard ●♠58Epic Elite Giant Troll
Blackheart Warmonger ( view
Blackheart Warmonger.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦15Normal ♥17Hard ♠20Elite ●♦26Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard ●♠61Epic Elite Giant Troll
Grax ( view
Grax.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦16Normal ♠21Elite ●♦27Epic Normal Giant Troll
Mezrox ( view
Mezrox.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦16Normal ♠21Elite ●♦27Epic Normal Giant Troll
Rort Rotseer ( view
Rort Rotseer.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦17Normal ♠22Elite ●♦28Epic Normal Giant Troll


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