The EQ2 @ TTH Ruins of Varsoon Zone Guide

Credits

• Slide, tour guide extraodenaire and slayer of mean things.

Latest Updates

• (11.29.05) - Guide posted!

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• Put your submissions into the guide and research any questions you might have about the Ruins of Varsoon Send them my way!

Contents

• Overview
• Minimum Level
• Zones within RoV
  
• Quests and Quest Starters
• Heritage Quests Involving Ruins of Varsoon
  
• Soloing Opportunities
• Opportunities for Groups

Overview

Skellies and golems and evil flesh eating books of death!!  The Ruins of Varsoon house many undead and magical beings, but much is unknown about the ruins and it's master Varsoon.  Many tell stories of what could have been regarding Varsoon, but nothing is solid.  It is said that Varsoon was on a personal quest to find the key to immortality, and near completion of his experiments, something went terribly wrong.  Even now Varsoon still seems to continue his quest for ultimate immortality by trying to take the lives of those who dare enter his chambers.  The tunnels that surround his lair are home to animated skeletons on unknown errands and irratible Golems that roam the halls.  Tomes rich with knowledge attack unexpecting adventurers with powerful, magical force.  Tunnels in the beggining portion of the zone house shrieking bats, giant spiders and goos of many sizes.  Prison rooms hold poor creatures begging for freedom and the eerie remains of the departed. 

Minimum level:

There is no level restriction for this zone, but it is recommended for groups between the levels of 25 and 35.  I stress the importance of using a group of at least 3 in this zone.  Soloers can not get too much further than the first few connecting tunnels fighting single mob goos, spiders and bats.  After that things get a bit tougher. 
The level recommendation also depends on your intentions.  If your group want's to delve deep into recesses of RoV and even possibly access the Chamber of Immortality for a shot at Varsoon himself, you might want to consider a large group of lvl 25-30 or a smaller group between levels 30-39.  (This is assuming that you want experience for each kill)

Like it or not, there are a slew of quests that are going to require you to visit this creepy zone, and many of them are well worth it.

NOTE:  If you plan on grouping in RoV a lot, you might want to consider taking the Golem choice for your creature mastery spell/ability.  You will be prompted with a creature choice at level 32. 

Zones Inside the Ruins of Varsoon:

• The only seperate zone within the Ruins of Varsoon is the Chamber of Immortality, which is really more of an instance rather than a full zone.  This is where the infamous Varsoon himself resides with his minions.  See the Access Quest section below for information on how to gain access to this zone.
  

Quest Starters:

• Collection quests:
  • Iridescent Beetle Collection: You should be able to start and complete this collection by examining the glowing "?" symbols found on the ground.  Check out the Ten Ton Hammer Collection Guide for more info.
• Lore and Legend:
• Lore and Legend - Golem:  Collect this creature mastery book by venturing into the tailor shop.  It is the same room where the Tome of Life spawns.  Read through the book to initiate the quest.  There are plenty of golems in the deeper parts of RoV to get a good jump on the quest.
• Normal quests:
  • Acidic Liquid:  This quest starts by examining a beeker found in the Varsoon apprentice room. Take the liquid back to Rebik Sprocketrock in the Baubleshire for a decent lvl 21 duel wield AGI/STR piercing weapon.
  • Fine Silks for Sale:  Examine a silk roll found near the mindless tailors.  You will be given 3 options of where to take the silk.  Where you take the silk will determine the reward you recieve.  Oracle Liandrin at the Oracle Tower in Antonica will give you the bright blue and yellow Liandrin's Oracle Robe.   Danielle Clothspinner in North Qeynos will give slippers and Adair Barnes in the Down Below gives adventurers the Dusty Earring of the Merchant.undertake.
• Access Quests
  • The Cove of Decay - Prison Break:  This quest is the first of three quests required to obtain access to the Cove of Decay in the Thundering Steppes.  You may want access to this zone to complete heritage quests such as Hadens Earring and Stilleto's Orders.  Start this quest by speaking to Thana Rumblehoof, a centaur held behind bars in one of the Varsoon prisons.  Free Thana and her companion by slaying gaurds until one drops a key.  Once freed they will lead you back to the RoV entrance and point you toward the next NPC to start access quest #2.
  • Where Will This Lead Me:  This is the access quest for the Chamber of Immortality zone.  (NOTE: You must have learned the Halasian Language to receive this quest). Speak to Arven Oshus (+554, -82) in Thundermist Village which  resides in the Thundering Steepes.  Arven will send you to find An Elderly Hermit found either just southwest or northeast of the RoV entrance. The hermit will want you to kill 3 named skelletons in RoV.  They are Thimzem Ci'Re in the workshop of the enchanter, Et'sipe Ymeresh in the workshop of the sorcerer, and Erbmys Sumyd in the workshop of the summoner.

Heritage Quests Involving the Ruins of Varsoon

There are many different Heritage Quests that involve parts of the Ruins of Varsoon throughout their progression.  The titles of each HQ listed below are linked to their respective guides found here at TTH.  Click on them for more specific information.

• A Strange Black Rock:  This quest starts by speaking to Scholar Al'Quylar behind the Oracle Tower in Antonica.  The reward is the Glowing Black Stone, a nice +INT, +WIS neck item.  Legend has it that the Black Stone is actually Varsoons evil heart.  The quest will send you through RoV 3 different times.  The Scholar will ask you to find research tomes, detroy the tomes of life and death and finally kill Varsoon himself.
  
• Hadden's Earring:  Talk to Kerath McMarrin at the Thundering Steppes docks to start this quest.  Finishing this quest will net you the Fishbone Earring  which is most well known for it's water breathing properties.  This quest will eventually send you through RoV to kill off Hrath V'Tol found in the sorcerer's workshop.
• Restoring Ghoulbane:  Talk to Toranim Skyblade after finishing the "Vida Needs a New Broom" and "Dusty Blue Stone" quests. You can find Toranim in the Temple of Life located in North Qeynos.  Skyblade will require you to enter the Tomb of Valor to take Ghoulbane. The tomb of valor can only be accessed after completing the quest "A Key to the Past". One of the creatures required to charge Ghoulbane is The Creator.  The Creator can be found in the Chamber of Immortality in RoV.  Completing this quest will give adventurers the holy sword Ghoulbane which does additional damage to undead enemies.
• Stiletto's Orders Intercepted:  This is the quest for the Manastone, a charm item that increases power in exchange for health.  Start by Killing off a shifty Ratonga named Stiletto who roams near the Skindancer gnolls in the Thundering Steppes.  He will drop his orders.  Pick them up and examine them to receive the quest.  You will need access to Cove of Decay.  See the Access Quest section above for more information on how to start. The Stiletto HQ will involve RoV by requiring you to examine a book in the workshop of the enchanter then kill Weavemaster Esh'Rax in the tailor room.

Soloing Opportunities:

If you're 25-32:

• Spiders, Bats, and Goos.  Becareful of adds around here though.  Even these smaller mobs come in groups of 2 and three which is about all you will be able to take on by yourself.
  

If you're 33-39:

• At this point you should be able to take on the guards in the Varsoon prisons by yourself and even move past to the first large workroom to pull some of the single or double grouped skeletons.
  

If you're 40+:

• Once you hit 40 you can move through most of RoV safely as everything should be greyed out.  At this point you could even take some of the larger groups spread throughout RoV and even some of Heroic 3up mobs.
  

Grouping Opportunities

Around level 25-32:

• With a balanced group of no less than three, you should be able to make it through most of the Ruins with a good challenge.  Some of the big named mobs like the Tomes of life and death, Varsoon,  and some named skellies might still present a problem.  Be cautious when roaming.
  

Around level 33-39::

• RoV should be no problem at this point.  Everything should con blue and green, and experience should still come quite easily.  This is a very safe range to group at.  Varsoon will beg for mercy.
  

Thanks for reading the TTH EQ2 RoV zone guide!

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