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How
can you not love that old man?

The path of a wizard is not for the faint of heart. You'll be tested at
every turn by horrors unimaginable with only your wits and reflexes to
depend on. The road is long, but for those that walk the path of mystic
knowledge, the rewards are greater than you can imagine. Fortunately
for you, I've been tasked with guiding you through the process. Can't
have too many corpses littering the landscape, now can we?



If you missed the first half of this guide, href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/68497" target="_blank">click
here!


You're Just Not Strong Enough
- Levels 10 to 15



When we spoke last time, you had just hit level 10 and were heading
back to Sanctuary to speak with Osgood again. Of course, once you go
back, he wants you to do him a couple of favors first. Surprised? I
thought not. He needs you to go help his friend Sandbur first. Sandbur
is a Changeling that looks like he's seen far better days. To be
honest, he kind of looks like an undead pixie zombie at first. Osgood
said he was a friend and you really want that wand, so suck it up, plug
your nose, and get down to it.



Not only does Sandbur look a little dead, he also seems to have the
concentration of a zombie. He says he needs to finish his research
before... something... he doesn't say. He asks that you go into the
Forgotten Caves to recover the transfiguring crystals from the arcanus.
You're not sure what they are, or what they'll do, but you can't turn
down a chance to explore a place with a name like the Forgotten Caves,
can you? Of course you can't.



Aside from looking astoundingly cool, there's nothing special of note
about the battles you'll fight within the Caves. Upon your return,
Sandbur looks not only surprised, but more alert and excited, as though
it's been longer than anyone can remember since he had a glimmer of
hope. With more than a hint of desperation in his voice, he asks that
you travel to the swamps of Blackspore to seek out his research
partner, Iliya. He says she'll know what to do with them.



Not every place in Free Realms is bright and shiny. Blackspore is a
perfect example of such a place that isn't. With rolling mist, smelly
swamps, and an exorbitant number of things that go bump in the night,
the Blackspore Swamps are not to be tread by those of weak will. It
doesn't take long to find Iliya near the heart of the swamp. She sounds
surprised when you mention Sandbur's name and you see a hint of sadness
in her eyes when she whispers that he was brilliant once.




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Sandbur's
only hope for peace.

You can hear the pity in her voice when she realizes he must think
they're still research partners. She says they were searching for opal
gems when his forgetfulness began. If you can find a few of these, she
hopes they would give him some semblance of peace. Pointing out into
the swamp, she lets you know they can be found off the Tormented
Spirits that wander the shallow water amongst the graves.



With your new found powers, taking out the Tormented Spirits should
provide little, if any, challenge for you. Gather the gems and head
back to Iliya. When you return, the slight smile that crosses her face
as she gazes upon the gems is almost enough to break your heart. She
says the gems won't cure Sandbur's memory, but with his research
complete, it may finally bring him peace.



Needless to say, Iliya was right. Sandbur talks about how brilliant she
always was and how he knew she would find them. He can finally rest
now. With Sandbur at peace, it's time to head back to Osgood. While
he's grateful to you for your help with Sandbur, he's decided you're
still not quite powerful enough for that wand, so you need to come back
when you hit level 15.



Now I know why Sony Online Entertainment made Osgood such a friendly
and kind-looking old man. Because if he wasn't, I'd probably strangle
him right now.



Head back to Natali to see what wild scheme she's got going with her
research this time. Oddly enough, she wants you to gather some
Poisondart Polliwog poison from eh toads in Blackspore Swamp and some
ice shards from the Elemental Guardians on Misty Mountain in Shrouded
Glade. While I hope she's not planning on making magical poison
Sno-Cones out of them, the experience is always needed, so off you go.



The Poisondart Polliwogs are the only creature I found in the game that
*really* poison you. They'll DoT you up multiple times and each one
hurts. Since I'm here to warn you first though, at least you can avoid
being knocked out multiple times before realizing there are Poison Cure
frogs in there too. Once you discover this, the rest is easy. Kill a
big Poisonous Polliwog and then click on a Poison Cure frog. Piece of
cake.



Gathering the ice shards from the Elemental Guardians proved to not
only be much more interesting, but much better experience as well. This
is one of the larger instances in the game and it has a ton of targets
to gather experience from. Each of the three Elemental Guardians also
drops a knapsack with a piece of loot in it, so this is a great place
to get some decent gear, or at the very least, some good stuff to sell.
Aside from the Elemental Guardians, there's The Rose that Knows to
discover along with the scripted encounter that goes with it. This area
roved so enjoyable in fact that I spent quite a bit of time here
gathering loot and levels.




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Don't
let the funny looks fool you.

Testing Your Mental Health -
Levels 15 to 19



At level 15, you receive your final spell, Chaos. This spell is a
multipurpose one. If used on a member of an enemy group, that target
will begin attacking its fellow monsters. If used while battling a
single opponent, it acts as a stun for the duration of the spell.
Combined with the freezing abilities of Ice Nova, this makes big
battles far easier to manage.



It took some time, but you finally reached level 15 and it's time to
head back to Osgood in Sanctuary. Immediately upon arrival, he tells
you it's great that you're back, but there's just one tiny problem. He
gave away his last set of wand-making materials to Sven, a student of
Karin Spellweaver. Remember how I mentioned earlier that I would *not*
strangle Osgood? Yeah, I'm trying to remember that right now too.



Sven should have been back by now, so Osgood wants you to go find him
and make sure he's alright. Osgood isn't sure where he went, so
suggests you go talk to Karin Spellweaver. She's right here in
Sanctuary, so it's not that far of a trek to find her. She tells you he
was heading to the Briarwood Kart Racetrack but agrees that he has been
gone too long.



Once in Briarwood, start your search by asking the people at
Tangletrack Speedway if they've seen Sven anywhere. When you start
asking questions, it doesn't take long to find out that Sven was making
a big commotion about people being too afraid to go to the Briar Patch
with him. Head over the hill to the Briar Patch and you'll find Sven
standing nearby. He's glad you've shown up and has a job for you.



Sven, which I will refrain from referring to as Toolboy for the
remainder of this guide, wants you to travel into the Briar Patch to
get a summoning crystal from a wizard inside. He says he'll pay, and
you have nothing better to do, so you agree. As you turn to go, you
hear Sven mutter, "Karin's gonna be so impressed with me!" under his
breath. Thus the Toolboy comment.



The wizard in the Briar Patch is no laughing matter. Just when you
almost reach him, he begins summoning a virtual train of monsters to
take out. Think fast, fight smart, and keep your head or your going to
be knocked out multiple times. If you haven't invested in any health
and restoration potions yet, you should seriously consider doing so as
your battles are only going to get rougher from this point out.



When you return with the crystal, Sven squeals like a schoolgirl, then
calms down a bit. Now he wants you to head into Treeleaf's Retreat and
him a twig from the tree. Sounds easy enough, but if it was so easy, he
would have done it himself by now, right? There's actually nothing
spectacular about this area. Simply work your way through as you would
any other dungeon until you get to the end and can take out Treeleaf
Hedge.



Sven seems unimpressed with the twig you bring back, but if he wants
something better, he can march his happy behind in there and go get
another one himself. Complaining about the material Osgood gave to him
to bind the gem and twig together, Sven has come up with a brilliant
replacement. He wants some web from the biggest, meanest looking spider
in Arachnia's Lair. The catch? He needs you to go get it for him. At
this point, I'm about ready to ask him if he wouldn't be happier
running a lemonade stand or Girl Scout Cookies. Biting my tongue
though, I agreed to go get the web for him instead.




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And
he'll stay at full health until you destroy all the bone piles.

Just like in every other MMOG out there, the bane of my existence
resides in the form of spiders. Not only are there spiders, but there
are big *huge* spiders. Not content with simple spiders though, the
development team saw fit to include spider eggs. Not just as
decoration, but as actual hatching spider eggs that spew forth a swarm
of the creepy crawlies to come feed on you. They're not hard to take
out and admittedly, the art team could have made them creepier if
they'd been mean, but still... I *hate* spiders. Other than the eggs
bursting around you for added horror, the web isn't too hard to gather
for Sven and this section goes by quickly.



Upon your return, Sven says he has great news, but claims you're not
strong enough to help him. If I hear this from one more person in the
game, I think I'm going to snap. Sadly, there's no other choice than to
go out and start cranking away. Fortunately for me (and you), Natali
has a doozy of a final request.



First up, she needs some life magic samples from Forest Snakes and
Battle Warthogs at Mugwort's Hollow. The objectives (and some of the
targets) of this instance can prove to be beyond frustrating at first.
During my first few attempts, I thought getting the bonus objective of
completing the area in less than 10 minutes was literally impossible.



By the time I'd run through far more than once (it's a long way to
level 20), I was able to complete it with anywhere from three to four
minutes to spare. You're going to do this zone (and this quest) a lot
if you want to crank out the levels to get to 20. Once you set that in
your mind though, the loot alone is very much worth it. Not only do you
finally get to look cool (some of the robes are *sweet*!), but you'll
make quite a bit of cash from this area.



There are a lot of tricks and traps in this one so rather than spoil
any surprise, I'm going to leave it alone. If anyone truly gets stuck
though, feel free to send me an email href="mailto:[email protected]">here
and I'll be happy to give you some tips. This is the most challenging
instance I've gone through in the game though in terms of strategy, so
take some time to try it out.



The second item Natali needs is some undead magic from the Grave
Elementals in Blackspore Swamp. While the concept of this battle is
easy enough, the execution is not. When you spawn the Grave Elemental,
you must immediately begin destroying all the bone clusters on the
ground because he'll draw strength and health from them as long as they
exist. Completely ignore him as you go running around destroying the
bones and (unfortunately) drinking health potions. After the last set
of bones have been destroyed, dig your heels in and get ready for a
fight with the Grave Elemental. It's not going to be quick and
painless, and be prepared with enough potions when you go in. Did I
forget to mention the roaming columns of purple flames that roam around
also? Best to avoid those if you can. As long as you pay attention to
your health, mana, and potions count, you should be fine.



When you've completed all these steps, return to Natali for a very
welcome experience bonus and start the process all over again... if
you're crazy and are trying to grind your way to level 20. Just as a
reminder from my own experiences, this is *not* the way the game was
meant to be played. I strongly suggest taking time to do other things
in the game as you make your way to level 20. You'll thank me for it
later.




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Tanglewood
Fort

DING! What Do I Get Now? -
Level 20



You've reached level 20 and it's time to go find Sven again. When you
get to him in Briarwood, he excitedly tells you that he's heard about
two powerful gems. The one he wants you to get is held by Foreman
Ironfist in the Haunted Mines, far to the southern edge of Blackspore.
While you're gathering the gem from there, he's going to head to get
the one in Briarheart Caverns.



I seem to remember complaining about the number of spiders inside
Arachnia's Lair earlier, or rather the spider eggs there. The number of
eggs in clusters there are nothing compared to the number of eggs you
have to deal with here. Not even close. And that's just the beginning
section. As you make you're way further into the mines, Shambling
Brutes leap and bear down on you like a freight train. You can handle
yourself well now though, so keep your cool and you'll be fine. Foreman
Ironfist really isn't that hard, nor is he surrounded by multiple
targets, so this should be a quick battle.



Once you have the gem, go back to where you were last talking to Sven
in Briarwood. You won't find him there, but the quest will progress,
telling you to go seek out Karin Spellweaver to see if returned there
after acquiring the gem from Briarheart Caverns. When she hears that
Sven went to Briarheart Caverns she freaks out, claiming he's not
strong enough to in there. Guess who she wants you to go save now? You
knew he was trouble from the very beginning, didn't you?



Before you can get to Briarheart Caverns, you have to first complete
the trials of Commander Kluggenkrush at Tanglewood Fort. This is a very
interesting area. It's the only spot I've found that requires you to
complete an instance with multiple challenges within itself before
allowing you access to the other side.



For his first trial, Commander Kluggenkrush wants you to challenge some
of his soldiers and archers. You can mix and match however you choose,
and there's no need t talk to them first. Set your sight on your target
and fire away. Defeat five of his troops in any combination and you're
all set. Since you impressed him with your completion of his task, he's
anxious to give you more.



Commander Kluggenkrush wants you to go help Chef Truffenglug with his
boar problem. He'll meet you at the top of the fort if you can make it
through the remaining challenges. The chef needs them rounded up, but
has been unsuccessful. He suggests more *persuasive* methods may be
called for. Not one to ignore a hint (and we all wanted a barbeque
anyway, right?), I quickly start taking those squealing piggies down.
The big smile on his faces told me he was happy with my performance.




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The
final entrance.

All laughs aside, he tells you it's time to challenge Blacksmith Blix.
He warns you he's an old warrior so not to expect a warm welcome. You
couldn't have guessed how much truth those few words held, but Chef
Truffenglug wasn't kidding. As you round the corner, it's like a scene
from Indiana Jones as large boulders start rolling towards you. Avoid
the crushing rocks and make your way to Blacksmith Blix. Once you get
to him, he's actually quite easy to take down.



After defeating Blacksmith Blix, there's only one last challenge to get
through - Commander Kluggenkrush himself. Unlike the others, Commander
Kluggenkrush puts up a good fight. Pay attention to your health and
potions and just keep battling away with him. With victory comes his
respect and entrance into the open area leading to Briarheart Caverns.



Upon entering the Briarheart Caverns, you'll find that some targets go
down quite easily, while others are extremely difficult. It's a good
challenge which I'll leave for you to figure out on your won. I will
give you one hint. Kill any Changeling Destroyers you find in groups
first because the longer the battle continues, the stronger they will
become.



While you're inside, you manage to find Sven, who *finally* admits that
he's just not cut out for this whole wizard thing. He gives you the
wand parts you collected for him before he scurries out of there faster
than a cockroach caught in a flashlight beam. By the way, he's also too
much of a coward to tell  his teacher that he's quitting so
asks that you speak with her and do it for him. Good riddance!



After rescuing him, you're almost at the end of the dungeon, so you may
as well finish it out, for the loot, if nothing else. When you're
finished, head back to Karin Spellweaver in Sanctuary to give her the
news of both his saving and quitting. She tells you she's disappointed
he gave up on being a wizard, but is glad that he figured it out before
he got hurt. I don't know... after all the work I had to do for him, it
would have been nice to see him get a little more trouble for my
efforts.



On the plus side, you've got a full set of wand parts, and a request to
go see Osgood. Since you're level 20, at least this time he can't tell
you you're not strong enough, right? Osgood lets you know you'll need
to buy an Orb of Spectral Fire from his assistant, Lavarius
Sparksizzle. He's standing right beside him so it's not that big of a
deal. The Orb costs 12,000 gold, but unless you've been spending your
money as fast as you could get it, you should have more than enough to
buy it right now.



Once you've gotten everything you need, talk to Osgood one last time.
Upon completion, he states that has to be the nicest wand he's ever
made, and you know something? I think I'd have to agree. The wand
hearkens back to the earlier days of EverQuest, when each class had an
epic weapon they could acquire and they were the only items that had
sparkle effects. I think the wand looks great.



What do you think?


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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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