Zek, the Orcish Wastes Zone Guide

Credits:

• Guide by - Savanja

Latest Updates:

• 4.17.07 - Guide Posted!

To-Do List:

• If you have any additions or requests, please let me know!
• Post zone map.

Contents:

• Overview
• Minimum Level
• Connecting Zones
• Quests
• Soloing Opportunities
• Grouping Opportunities

Overview

Zek, the Orcish Wastes is just as the name implies. This is a somewhat barren land packed front to back with orcs! For most Qeynosian adventurers this may very well be your first taste of orcish flesh, but for the Freeport fellows, this is pretty much just a bigger and badder Commonlands.

Zek is named for the deity Rallos Zek, the creator of the orcs. These fierce beings embody all that Zek finds to be favorable in the world of Norrath. They are strong, independent, and hell bent on bringing the weaker races to their knees in the name of Zek.

Minimum Level

This is an overland zone, best suited to levels 30-45. Stay up front near the guards at lower levels to stay somewhat safe, bigger content is located towards the back of the zone, near Deathfist Citadel.

Connecting Zones

• Thundering Steppes - via dock bell.
• Deathfist Citadel - a level 35-45 dungeon zone.
• The Obelisk of Lost Souls - level 30-55 dungeon zone. Kill the shadow men to spawn the entrance.
• The Sullon Mines Heroic - A 35ish instanced group zone.
• The Darkened Den - A small upper 30s instance with either heroic or solo options.
• The Deserted Mine - raid zone.

Quests

There are soo many quests in this zone. You'll find the vast majority available around the docks. Another good place to pick some up, once you get a bit higher in levels, is at the Green Hood camp. The quests listed below are only a sample of what you can find, so keep an eye out for those NPC quest starters, and if you find some that I have not listed, feel free to e-mail me what you have and I will be sure to give you credit.

Mettle Testing (level 30) - This quest starts with Hammer near the docks in Zek. You are asked to slay 10 orcs. This is a starting quest in a series given by Hammer and it can potentially give you a full set of Emerald Hide armor. Reward: Coin and choice of armor piece .

Keys for Hammer (level 31) - One of the quests in the series given by Hammer. Kill Talon grunts to obtain keys. These are auto-updating and not dropped. Reward: Coin and choice of armor piece .

Short Range Patrol (level 34) - One of the quests in the series given by Hammer. You'll need to check out locations around the front part of Zek and report what you find back to Hammer. The catapults are on the hills just outside the gates. The wreck of Stormbear is in the water just off of the docks. The grove of stones is the druid ring found up the path going northeast from the docks. And the tower ruins is just east of the gates from the docks. Reward: Coin and choice of armor piece.

The Tallon Plunder Chests (level 34) - One of the quests in the series given by Hammer. You will need to revisit the locations that you went to for Short Range Patrol, only you will need to find the chests at these locations. Reward: Coin and choice of armor piece.

Disrupting the Mining Operations (level 30) - One of the quests in the series given by Hammer. Slay 10 Vallon miners. You'll find these in and around the mines in the heroic and solo variety. Reward: Coin and choice of armor piece.

Local Hazards Abound (level 31) - Cornail Stormwrath, found near the docks, asks you to kill 10 catapult operators. The catapults are found just outside the gates from the docks on the hills. Reward: Coin.

Reliving the Past (level 31) - Ismena, found on the Zek docks, asks you to do a few tasks for her. First, run outside the gates to the orc encampment. Kill 10 Tallon grunts. Visit the Grove of Stones aka the druid ring, found up the path northeast of the gates. Reward: Coin and house item.

Scattered Notes (level 31) - Hoggle Bogstrutter, found on the Zek docks, asks you to kill orcs from just outside the gates until you find all of the notes. Completing this quest opens up the following quest. Reward: Coin.

A Paradise Dream World (level 35) - After completing "Scattered Notes", This is the Bogstrutter isle guide to Zek. You will need to visit various locations around Zek. This is a great way to get to know the zone and is similar to the guides to Commonlands and Antonica.

Visit:
Bogstrutter Cove (loc: 509, -41, 289), near dock.
Greenspire Wood Inn, up the path west of the gates.
Rustic Pond Resort, (loc 281, -21, -374), on the bank of Three Toes.
Rodcet Steam Hall, (loc 723, -14, -301) far west side of the zone.
Celestial Abyss, (loc 335, 1, -114) at the bottom of the Deathfist Mine.
Windspirit Round, (loc 207, 14, 108) Druid Ring, northeast of the gate.
Spiralball Arena, (loc -85, -3, -84) this is Spirit Lake, follow the spiral.
Pirate's Bay, (loc 183, -20, 379) This is Siren Cove found off of the southern beach.
Titan's Tower, (loc -23, 75, -367) top of the spire.
Castle Bogstrutter, just over the bridge to Deathfist Citadel

Reward: Coin and your choice of Ebon Eye chest piece.

Rescue of the Greenhoods - Heritage quest given by This quest is given by Sashra Thaltalis in Zek (+342, -20, -464). Find the full write up here.

Training is a Shield - Heritage quest given by Grozmag the Trainer found near the Deathfist Mines. This gives the reward of the Shiny Brass Shield.

Soloing Opportunities

Zek is a great place to solo at this tier, you only need to watch that you are not running into heroic areas while you take advantage of the abundant solo content. It is a good idea to stick to the paths unless you know specifically where you are going.

Early on, you will really want to stick close to the front gates. Pick up the many quests at the docks and a good portion of them will start you out in this area anyway. With several of the quests progressing as series, you'll naturally branch out to other portions of the zone as you go. I cannot stress enough how valuable quests are when you solo in areas such as these, especially at this level where making experience seems to take forever.

For a bit of grinding, the beach has some nice mobs. I happen to like the open areas with the skeletons and treants. A lot of these are grouped soloables that give pretty good experience with little risk.

Grouping Opportunities

You'll find heroics in clustered areas, which makes finding stuff to kill and managing repops very nice. If you want to stay in Zek and not wander into Deathfist just yet, head out to the Deathfist Mines areas. You will find heroics just outside of this area, and down inside the mines, just take the elevator down and work your way up! There is also some great heroic content just outside of Deathfist if you are closer to level 40.

If you are feeling brave and have a good group, then visit Deathfist Citadel! At the writing of this guide, the Citadel is undergoing a major revamp that Radar-X has written up a great overview on what is being done within this zone. Up until now, the Citadel has been very under utilized, but I think this revamp will add some new interest to both Zek and Deathfist, so be sure to stop in there with your group!

Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer guide to Zek. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail them to me.