Archer Point
General Strategies
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This quest requires a solid crowd control specialist (a bard who can
swing a sword is best here), a reliable healer, and 3 good damage
dealers. Ideally, the 6th slot would be a DV battle cleric who could
replenish the primary healer and the crowd control caster while dealing
some good melee damage. The upgrades to ranged rate of fire introduced
in Module 3 make archer builds a handy choice for hitting the darting
caster foes.
As a general rule, the party will best be served with divine and arcane
casters staying out of combat until the melee enemies have been halted
with enchantments. Then all melee energy should focus on wiping out
enemy casters. Arcane damage dealers will likely find the number of
enemies in this mission too much for their spell points pool. Crowd
control is much more effective. A good Hypnotic Pattern takes care of
the most of the melee, and Web makes the casters sit still so that the
damage dealers can get to them.
You must kill 45 monsters and the hobgoblin chief in roughly 12 minutes
to succeed in this quest. To do so, it is vital that the team moves
quickly from point to point but not to race into battle too weak to
survive. A brief pause between each section of the walk-through for
heals and/or DV is advised.
Point
Marketplace
guards, hobgoblin clerics, hobgoblin slayers, hobgoblin witch doctors,
hobgoblin infiltrators, hobgoblin chief, ogres, worg, black wolves,
ogre shamans, bugbear warriors, bugbear assassins,
(from Jasper Cruikshank)
1: You enter a lightly fortified area in a forest. Monsters will
soon smash down the wooden gate to the east, so be ready! The first
encounter pits your party against 11 foes, including 6 hobgoblin
casters. Use crowd control to immobilize the hobgoblin guards and
slayers and the ogre. The damage dealers should focus on the witch
doctors and clerics. After the casters are down, the fight will be
easy. Exit the ruined gate and turn north to follow the path.
Section 2: As the path
turns west, you run into another hobgoblin party (5 this time). Again,
immobilize the melee (watch out for the hobgoblin version of a rogue,
the infiltrator) and get rid of the casters. The mop up will be easy.
Continue following the path, which winds north again.
Section 3: The path will
veer east and bring the party into conflict with 3 hobgoblin slayers
and their ogre shaman friend guarding a chest. Hidden nearby are a worg
and some black wolves. In total, your party faces 9 enemies. The shaman
is tough, and the worg and wolves will trip the damage dealers in your
party if they get the chance. Crowd control can keep this situation
from getting out of hand.
When this fight is over, the party should take the second path south as
the trail forks.
Section 4: The party will
now approach a rest shrine guarded by 7 hobgoblins and an ogre. As
before, crowd control can reduce the threat from this battle, which
features 6 melee enemies and a cleric. The party should use the rest
shrine now because the quest timer will not afford you a second trip to
this location. Return to the fork in the trail to the north and take
the other path south. Follow the path as it winds back to the west.
Section 5: The next
encounter is 6 bugbears and hobgoblins. The only caster is a hobgoblin
witch doctor. Your party should be used to the routine of crowd
control, kill caster, finish melee by now. Follow the path as it curves
southeast.
Section 6: The next
battle is massive, as you will face 13 foes! The mix is a deadly
combination of ogres, hobgoblins, and bugbears containing all
archetypes: infiltrators will surprise attack your party, the witch
doctor will spam magic, and shamans will cause chaos. The strategy for
this fight is really no different than the others. Try to eliminate the
ogre shamans first. Then take out the hobgoblin witch doctor. The rest
of the enemies rely on brute strength, so you should prevail with wise
tactics. When the party is healed and ready, follow the trail back to
the west and north.
Section 7: The party will
come upon what seems to be a solitary hobgoblin witch doctor. The truth
is that he is protected by 5 infiltrators and 2 black wolves. If at all
possible, hit the witch doctor with Web before the other enemies reveal
themselves. Then the crowd control caster can slow down the new enemies
while the heavy hitters do what they do best.
This fight puts the kill count up to 49, so the main goal now is to
kill the hobgoblin chief, who is surrounded by 11 really annoying
friends. If the party is healthy enough, you can go straight for the
kill (See The Chief) at this
point by following the leftmost fork in the trail. Otherwise, the party
can take the rightmost fork in the road to the second rest shrine (see style="font-weight: bold;">Rest Shrine 2).
Rest Shrine 2: A bugbear
warrior and 3 assassins block you easy access to a well-deserved rest.
Try to lure them back toward the trees, and an ogre shaman sits alone
just a little farther north. Since your foes are pure combatants, you
should easily prevail. Before you rest, head north to kill the ogre and
loot his chest. After the rest, head west across the grass to the
hobgoblin chief.
The Chief: Here the party
will face off against a bevy of casters: 2 clerics, 2 witch doctors, 2
ogre shamans, and the chief. A handful of infiltrators and wolves will
also come out of the shadows to wreak havoc. The crowd control
specialist must immobilize those infiltrators and wolves. Charm Person
or Suggestion is a good idea for those guys. The clerics should be
first on the hit list for the damage dealers. The chief comes next, and
then the other casters. If the party healer has enough spell points to
keep the damage dealers patched up, the party should survive to finish
off the enchanted wolves and infiltrators.
The mission is now complete. The party can loot the chest nearby and
exit to seek a reward from Jasper Cruikshank.
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