Stormcleave Outpost
General Strategies
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Be sure to have a couple of armored tanks (paladins or fighters) for
this quest. Also have some serious melee damage. You'll be facing a
horde of enemies, many of them fairly weak. You just need to mow them
down quickly and efficiently. Spell points should be conserved for the
mephits, fire giants, and Helos.
A ranger with Favored Enemy Giants, or a dwarf with the Giant Dodger
Enhancement does well on this quest, as does a bard with Otto's
Resistible Dance and a high CHA score. Crowd control spells serve the
party well in this quest. Spells that buff fire resistance are also
helpful.
The shamans and kobold chieftains in this quest can cast annoying
status
effects. A well-built paladin shines on this quest.
There's no pretty way to go about the slaughter required on this quest.
This is an endurance test, and you'll be forced to use your hit points
and spell points sparingly. You'll get three Rest Shrines to help along
the way, but you should save those for when everyone needs them. One
hint is to avoid any battles you can. Consider skipping looting the
second chest (see Section 9 below) until after the mission is complete.
The fight for that chest could leave you too weak to finish the quest.
Outpost
Deneith
Scorpions, Minotaur Warriors, Minotaur Berserkers, Trolls, Minotaur
Shamans, Black Wolves, Ogres, Ogre Shamans, Hill Giants, Kobold
Chieftains, Kobold Warriors, Kobold Throwers, Kobold Shamans, Fire
Mephits, Greater Fire Mephits, and Hill Giant Hunters
(fire giant), Pious Grew'el (fire giant), Helos (minotaur), Insgadreer
(hill giant), General Xanti'lar
cannon parts; Collect the stolen outpost supplies; Return the
outpost supplies to Delvascon; Destroy the giants' dimensional gate;
Kill fifty of Xanti'lar's minions; Defeat the giants' raid force
1: You enter the forest from the southeast corner and are almost
immediately ambushed by night scorpions. They're low level, but their
poison can be a horrible way to start the mission, so kill them
quickly. Just a few paces north of the spot where the night scorpions
ambush you are a minotaur berserker and five sleeping minotaur
warriors. Try to draw the night scorpions back south east and defeat
them out of earshot.
The path west from the scorpions bends into some thick growth around a
ruined wall. You'll find minotaurs warriors, berserker and shamans in
this cluster, along with some nasty trolls. You can avoid this fight by
simply going north and then east from the night scorpion ambush.
Section 2: Slowly approach the camp with the sleeping minotaurs
just north of the night scorpion ambush. Crowd control spells,
particularly a good bardic Fascinate, can help make this encounter
easier.
Head farther east to encounter another night scorpion ambush. be sure
to lure them back into cleared areas rather than letting your battle
with them put you in further danger.
Section 3: Go north from
the second scorpion ambush until you have dispatched a group of black
wolves, some ogres, and more black wolves--in that order.
Section 4: Travel
southwest through the trees until you reach the hill giant camp.
Slaughter them (let your bard use Otto's for some fun) and cut back to
the northeast.
Your next battle will be with some minotaurs. Farther northeast, you
will be swarmed by 10 kobolds. The puny creatures are hardly a threat
to you by now. Swat them and be ready for a more serious encounter.
Section 5: Just beyond
the site of your most recent battle, you should locate and speak with
Gate Warden Iron claw. Then move northeast again.
If you avoided the minotaurs near the ruined wall in Section 1, this
will be your first difficult encounter on this quest. Just northeast of
the place where the pesky kobolds assaulted you, you'll meet up with a
handful of melee minotaurs backed up by a shaman. Crowd control spells
can save a lot of damage here again, letting the heavy hitters remove
the threat of the minotaur shaman and then dealing with the other
minotaurs at their leisure.
Section 6: The path bends
slightly northwest at this point and leads you to a vicious battle with
trolls, minotaur berserkers, and fire mephits. As always with this
quest, try to lure enemies back to places you've already cleared to
deal with them safely. There's no fun way to deal with an encounter
involving trolls and mephits. Just do your best to come out alive. A
Rest Shrine is not far away now.
Activate the rune on the nearby pillar and move west. Another group of
trolls and fire mephits guard the second runed pillar. This time, they
have black wolves as companions. Though they are not very threatening
in themselves, the wolfs can keep your party off balance and
susceptible to attacks. Deal with the wolves quickly to take control of
this encounter. Activate the 2nd rune and head west to the Rest Shrine.
Section 7: That Rest
Shrine probably came at just the right time. The first encounters were
manageable through crowd control and stealth, but the last few
encounters were tough. The next encounter to the west involves more
trolls and minotaurs. Blow throw them and continue west.
You'll next come across a hill giant hunter, a devastating physical
fighter that may be harder to enchant because of its higher level. Rush
it quickly, but have at least one or two of the party ready to deal
with the black wolves that will jump out to aid the hill giant.
Section 8: This next
battle to the west is a really tough one. You'll face off against
Ortadar and 3 of his hill giant minions. These are tough foes, but a
little crowd control magic can neutralize Ortadar's companions and
allow the party to dispatch the menace before mopping up his cronies.
Your reward is a nice chest.
You can also destroy six crates of magefire cannon parts for some bonus
XP as well as pick up a bag from one of the crates for more XP. The bag
contains a magic shard that could aid you in the final battle.
Section 9: Next head
southwest for a run-in with more minotaurs. You'll also mix it up with
some ogres and fire mephits. Use tactics to ensure these fights do not
cost unnecessary hit points or spell points. Activate the 3rd rune here.
If you're brave, the party can head southeast to fight another of those
rough hill giant hunters and his 3 hill giant friends to get to a
treasure chest. It might be better to save that fight until much later,
though.
Whether or not you fight for the second treasure chest, you're next
important battle lies southwest. You'll head into a troll and some
black wolves. Eventually, as you continue to head southwest, you'll
spot the fourth pillar. A couple of greater fire mephits will try to
stop you from activating it. They will fail.
The 2nd Rest Shrine is Northwest of this point. Try to save this shrine
until after the battle with Insgadreer (Section
10). Only one more Rest Shrine comes between now and the final
battle.
Section 10: The next
challange you'll face is surviving the arduous battle with Insgadreer
and his fellow hill giants. The 3 of them are quite tough, and only the
ordinary hill giant will be easily enchanted. This fight is the reason
you've had to conserve hit points so greedily since the 1st Rest
Shrine. If you win the fight, you'll be able to loot a nearby chest.
You can also pick up a bag on the crates in the area for bonus XP and a
second shard to use in a later battle. Finally, you can collect 4
cylinders at this spot toward the twelve you need for another bonus
objective. Now head east through a narrow band of trees.
To the east, a troll lies in wait with some black wolves and greater
fire mephits. They guard the fifth pillar. It's another tough fight
that could leave your party close to depleted. Hang in there; the final
Rest Shrine is close. Head southwest for the next battle.
Section 11: Two hill
giants guard the a pair of cynlidars to go with the ones you took from
Insgadreer's camp. These giants should be easy to dispatch after all
that you've been through. After looting the nearby chest, move east.
You'll run into a minotaur shaman and a troll. Then you can move
southwest and blow through 8 puny kobolds. Collect two more cylindars
here.
Now the party can move northeast into a cave to a Rest Shrine or it can
move southwest for a vicious battle. Do not make the choice to use the
Rest Shrine lightly; it will be the last one you find and there are
many fights left ont he docket.
Section 12: The
southwestern area is an enclosure populated with the fire giant Pious
Grew'el and his 19 skeleton minions. While the skeletons are weak, 12
of them can attack from a distance, so it may be helpful for one damage
dealer to go about swatting them out of the way or a cleric with some
turning left for the day will vaporize them in a hurry. Pious Grew'el
is a caster and the party will feel his wrath. Defeat him to collect a
3rd shard for the final showdown. Also, a party member with high INT
can activate a rune here to destroy the dimensional gate. Just be ready
for a few more mephits who don't want that gate closed.
Next move back west and then south, where you will quickly overwhlem a
pair of minotaur berserkers. A little father southwest is minotaur
shaman with a couple of trolls. Try to lure them back into safe
territory. There are 2 more cylinders where you found them.
Move just a bit farther south to find another troll with some black
wolves. Lure them back to a safe spot and kill them to collect the
cylinders they guarded. You hsould have all 12 now. Another big fight
awaits you to the south.
Section 13: The final
pillar is guarded by the minotaur named Helos, along with 2 warriors
and a pair of trolls. Helos hits hard but is purely physical in his
attacks. After you defeat this group and the greater fire mephits
guarding the pillar, you are ready for the big showdown. Hopefully you
have a Rest Shrine left for use.
You'll need to head back north until you reach the location of the 4th
pillar (Section 9). Now head
east.
Section 14: As you
approach the dimensional gate that leads to the boss battle, you'll be
besieged by a half dozen trolls, some black wolves, and a pair of hill
giant hunters. Dispatch these monsters with no mercy and get ready for
the huge showdown that awaits you beyond the portal.
Make sure everyone is healthy and ready to fight before entering the
portal. No one can exit the portal again until General Xanti'lar is
dead.
Xanti'lar: General
Xanti'lar is surrounded by a handful of giants in his keep. You'll also
notice four magical barriers holding back several more enemies. Each of
those groups of enemies is boosting the general with a spell. You'll
find the general's giant companions no match for you, but the
geeneral's buffs make him next to impossible to defeat.
First kill all of the generals giant firends and then have the person
with the shards open the barrier that releases the giant stone
elemental. Killing this creature will remove the general's Stoneskin
buff.
If the general's health still isn't going down fast enough, try
releasing and killing the fire mephits. They keep the general's health
flowing with Regeneration.
If you still have problems with the general, you can remove another
buff and then the final one. Just be careful not to unleash too many
monsters at once because the Xanti'lar will be pounding on your group
the entire time.
Aftermath: When Xanti'lar is dead, the party can return through the
portal to the outpost. Go back to Commander Firebrand. You can also
speak to Corporal Delvascon if you collected all 12 cylinders. Sergeant
Katani d'Deneith can help you fulfill the optional "Defeat the giants'
raiding force" objective.
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