Return to Madstone Crater

''The power of the Madstone Crater has driven the Storm's Heart brigade insane. Will you be able to survive its power?'' {{Quest | name            = Return to Madstone Crater | adpack          = Ruins of Gianthold | epic            = 24 | duration        = Very Long | raid            = false | solo only       = false

| xp              = Madstone Crater | ecasual         = 16514 | enormal         = 28374 | ehard           = 29225 | eelite          = 30077 | epicxp          = | bestower        = Hworrl ar'Bryssan | npc             = Hworrl ar'Bryssan | loc             = Madstone Crater | zone            = Gianthold | patron          = Agents of Argonnessen | favor           = 8 | shares favor    = Madstone Crater | free            = no  | extreme          = false | mappic          = M madstone crater.png | maplegend       = yes | othermap        = yes | mappic2         = Madstone Crater.jpg

| loadingpic      = L Madstone Crater.jpg | overview        = | objective_1     = Speak to the Fire Giant Chieftain | objective_2     = Rescue the first seer | objective_3     = Defeat the first Seer's Giant Skeleton Guards | objective_4     = Meet the seer at the first crystal and start the shattering | objective_5     = Defend the seer until the first crystal is shattered | objective_6     = Rescue the second seer | objective_7     = Defeat the second Seer's Giant Skeleton Guards | objective_8     = Meet the seer at the second crystal and start the shattering | objective_9     = Defend the seer until the second crystal is shattered | objective_10    = Rescue the third seer | objective_11    = Defeat the third Seer's Giant Skeleton Guards | objective_12    = Meet the seer at the third crystal and start the shattering | objective_13    = Defend the seer until the third crystal is shattered | objective_14    = Speak to the Fire Giant Chieftain to open the central pathway | objective_15    = Defeat the Master of the Madstone | objective_16    = Return to the Fire Giant Chieftain | obj_failure_3   = | optional_1      = Clear the entrance field | opt_percent_1   = 25 | optional_2      = Defeat fifty infected Storm's Heart | opt_percent_2   = 25 | optional_3      = Slay 6 Ancient Enchanters | opt_percent_3   = 25 | expect          = | traps           = None | misc            = {{Bug|Giant seers can fail to turn friendly if you have Aura of Menace Warlock ability active.}}
 * This is one of four quests you must do order to flag for The Fall of Truth Raid
 * Chaos Orb
 * Spawning/respawning monsters
 * Useful Spells: Flesh to Stone, Solid Fog, Cloudkill, Invisibility, Web, Charm Monster
 * Useful Buffs: Resistance to Cold/Electricity; Protection from Cold/Electricity
 * Useful Weapons: Paralyzers, disruptors, and wounders

Walkthrough
The Fire Giant Chieftain inside the quest is Hworrl ar'Bryssan not Blaze ar'Rhind (from the Heroic version), however he is wearing Blaze's armor, not Hworrl's (based on their appearances in the public area). This impacts the quest in no way, but can cause confusion when looking for Hworrl to turn the quest in.

Stepping in will bring you to the first killing field - You have two options here:
 * First is to clear out the area before moving on (usually the wiser option until you know the dungeon well)
 * It can be a tough fight - Multiple waves of enemies spawn as the previous wave is taken down
 * Creatures that are insane due to the Madstone, such as the Minotaurs, are immune to mind affecting spells
 * Solid Fog, paralyzers and web help slow them down
 * Cloudkill and wounding weapons to drain Con work well
 * Alternatively, regular DPS works
 * Ogre Magi will cast Cone of Cold, Chain Lightning and Symbol of Pain
 * Second is to quickly take a U-Turn to the right, and deal with this place later

Once the entrance is clear proceed to the cave north-east of the entrance, marked "North Cave Entrance" on the map.
 * This cave has a shrine to the right, a locked door to the left and an exit straight ahead
 * The locked door least to an optional hall with a treasure chest
 * The door can be picked (Lock DC) or unlocked with the key (found on an outcropping to the left in the lava shallows through the next cave exit)
 * There are Giant Skeleton Warriors, Giant Skeleton Barbarians and Madstone Enchanters down the hall
 * When fighting the Enchanters, Casters should stay back and use Web or similar - If Casters get aggro, the Enchanters will cast Madstone Rage on them, which will prevent spell-casting
 * Note: The exit from this cave can be also accessed by jumping down from near the Third Crystal, so the optional corridor can also be left until towards the end of the quest

Head back out to the entrance area, then use the second cave entrance ("Southwest Cave Entrance", south and east of Hworrl) to proceed
 * There are 3 Seers to free, then 3 Crystals to be shattered. Each section has the same basic pattern:
 * Head through cave, killing Minotaurs, Trolls and Ogres, until you reach an area with bone gates
 * Defeat the Giant Skeleton Guards to open the gates
 * Kill the Madstone Enchanter in the room to free the Storm Heart Seer from domination
 * Speak to the Storm Heart Seer, then he will teleport to his Crystal
 * Head through cave, killing Minotaurs, Trolls and Ogres, until you reach the exit
 * Head across the surface, killing Minotaurs, Trolls, Ogres and Giant Skeletons, until you reach the Storm Heart Seer/Crystal
 * Protect the Storm Heart Seer as he dances a 3 minute-long ritual to destroy the Crystal
 * Head to the entrance to the next cave
 * Freeing the Storm Heart Seers
 * The Seer will attack you, but can generally be ignored (or kited) while you kill the Madstone Enchanter controlling him
 * Once the Enchanter is dead, remember to speak to the Seer - he will not move to the Crystal until you do
 * Protecting Seer at Crystal 1
 * The Seer will start dancing once you talk to him
 * The dance lasts 3 minutes and the Crystal breaks once the ritual is complete
 * The Seer will take damage from enemies - You must protect him while he dances or he will have to start again if his health drops too low (restarting the 3 minute timer)
 * The Seer will not die - he heals fully every time he restarts the ritual
 * Casting Invisibility on the Seer helps a lot as enemies will aggro on you, not him
 * It does not appear to be possible to cast Invisibility from a Wand on the Seers in the Epic version (it does work in heroic) - there is no change to the seer's appearance
 * {This could be a visual bug and the spell may have worked functionally, as the wand user was not and did not turn invisible on a successful casting the last time this was tried and Seers 2 & 3 did not get attacked - further testing needed to verify}
 * If the Seer takes damage, you (or a Cleric/FvS hireling set to Interact with him) can heal him, so he lasts longer
 * A wave of Minotaurs will come out of the gate at the bottom of the ramp to attack the Seer
 * Every Minotaur you kill will spawn another at the gate within a few seconds
 * A caster can turn the Minotaurs to stone, leaving them as statues for as long as possible - This prevents respawn
 * A high AC/low DPS character can grab aggro and keep it (taking them down very slowly), provided no-one else attacks them, preventing respawn
 * Once the Crystal is shattered, any remaining Minotaurs can be killed
 * The Seers can be protected by brute force, if no spells or delaying tactics are available, but it can be difficult
 * The cave to Seer 2 can be reached by going back down the ramp from the Seer until there is a path to the East, and following this to the next cave entrance ("Central Cave Entrance")
 * Protecting Seer at Crystal 2
 * The Seer behaves the same way as with Crystal 1, but there are different enemies attacking. Useful buffs for the Seer include:
 * Invisibility (as above)
 * Cold & Electricity Protection/Resistance as protection against spells from the Runetusk War-Mages
 * Blur/Displacement
 * Minotaurs, Trolls and Ogres attack up the 4 ramps from below, while a Runetusk War-Mage attacks from above
 * Minotaurs use melee attacks only
 * Trolls, Ogres used ranged and melee attacks
 * Runetusk War-Mages use spells and ranged attacks
 * As before, enemies respawn if killed
 * Cloudkill at the bottom of each ramp, before you start the process, can bottle up enemies down below
 * Tactics used for Crystal 1 also work
 * The cave to Seer 3 can be reached by going back down the ramp from the Seer (almost back to the entry point), then taking the path to the right, and following this to the next cave entrance ("Northeast Cave Entrance")
 * Protecting Seer at Crystal 3
 * The Seer behaves the same way as with Crystal 2. Useful buffs for the Seer include:
 * Invisibility (as above)
 * Cold & Electricity Protection/Resistance as protection against spells from the Runetusk War-Mages
 * Blur/Displacement (especially useful due to multiple archers from above)
 * Ogres and Runetusk War-Mages will attack from multiple positions above
 * Ogres ranged attacks and melee if you approach them
 * Runetusk War-Mages use spells and ranged attacks
 * Minotaurs will attack up the single ramp from below
 * Minotaurs use melee attacks only
 * If you can cast Invisibility on the Seer, do it immediately after you talk to him (before anyone arrives on the ledge above) if you have a 3 minute duration clicky/wand or beforehand if it lasts longer than 3 minutes
 * The Ogres and Runetusk War-Mages will ignore the Seer and ignore you too if you are out of sight until Invisibility runs out
 * The party can then stand on the ramp, out of sight of the enemies on the ledge, and kill the Minotaurs on the ramp until the Crystal is shattered
 * If the Seer is not invisible and the party size is small:
 * A player with curative spells or a Cleric/FvS hireling can be positioned in sight of the Seer, but out of sight of the Ledges to heal him from damage from above until the Crystal is shattered
 * The rest of the party can then deal with the Minotaurs as above
 * If the Seer is not invisible and the party is larger:
 * The same tactics can be used as with Crystals 1 and 2
 * Melee characters can use the side ramp (or stand below it) to take care of Minotaurs, taking care not to stand where they can be knocked off
 * Casters with Charms/Flesh to Stone/Cloudkill are useful up top
 * Charm as many on the top shelf as you can, to have them fight one another
 * Solid Fog and Cloudkill can be used up top and on the ramp (to assist the melees)
 * A player with curative spells or a Cleric/FvS hireling can focus on the Giant, as above

Once the third crystal is shattered, jump down to the lava river to the south
 * The entrance to the first cave with the optional chest is there ("North Cave Entrance"), giving access back to the entrance area
 * The optional can be completed now if it wasn't done earlier
 * Head up to the entrance area to speak to Hworrl

Blaze tells you the gate to the Madstone is now open, now you just have to fight your way up to it
 * Clear the path of the final infected soldiers, and get ready to run up the spire
 * There are Xoriat Chaos Orbs, casting random effects, on the top of the spire. They are almost impossible to avoid due to the small size of the area
 * Cast Death Ward and any other relevant buffs spells need to compensate for Orb effects
 * Sprint to the top and fight the Red-named Warlock of Madstone, a giant skeleton
 * He will often have spell immunity protecting him from most 4th Level and lower spells, so watch his inspection screen to confirm what defences he has
 * The End Chest is on top of the Spire after defeating the Warlock (even though the quest does not complete here)
 * There is a chance at unique loot, and 1d4 s

Head back to Blaze to complete the quest.

| insidious       = | devious         = | discreet        = | aggression      = 72 | onslaught       = 95 | conquest        = | tamper          = | neutralization  = | ingenious       = | observance      = | perception      = | vigilant        = | mischief        = | vandal          = | ransack         = | bonus_xp_notes  = | chest           = 3
 * The Seers can be protected by brute force, but it can be difficult. The seers are healable and unkillable and that makes the encounters much easier.
 * 1 in the second Seer room
 * 1 behind a locked door in the cave to the left of the entrance (the door can also be opened by key, the key is found in shallow lava near the third crystal)
 * 1 Epic Chest at the end for killing the Warlock of Madstone

| npcreward       = Random item | unique          = yes | external        = }}