Toil and Trouble!

Discussion in 'News and Announcements' started by Accendo, Aug 10, 2021.

  1. Accendo Guest

    Dr. Arcana has something wickedly magical to show you.

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    The hinges creak as the weathered wooden door to the small residence opens, breaking the old woman's concentration. She had been working with this Lost Age text since midday, meticulously translating it. Now she looks up from the scroll that was rolled out across the desk in front of her to focus her good eye on the cloaked figure standing in her doorway, silhouetted by moonlight.

    "Get in, get in. 'Fore the guards wander by. Good for takin' bribes, bad for keeping secrets."

    The door closes gently behind the youthful woman as if pushed by invisible hands, and she brushes some of the desert sand off her dress. "I was not seen, Auntie Grimm, no. Not by the skygazers, either."

    "Mmm, hmmm. You're looking refreshed, Sister Belladonna. A bit of huntin' along the way?"

    "Beauty and a pinch of flirtation can open as many locks as magic," Belladonna says, with a wink towards the wrinkled and stooped woman. They both know the truth though, she simply loves the feeling of being youthful, again. Sure, a tonic can ease her aching bones, a balm might help to dull the fires in her joints, and the right tea can energize her for a span of time, but true youthfulness? It is a cure-all, wasted on the immature and underdeveloped. She is doing so much more with it than they would have.

    "Being frail and feeble, that's what makes one invisible in this world. Can't see the power we tap, the knowledge within. Too distracted with the reminder of their own mortality."

    "Either way, they underestimate us at their peril. Isn't that right, Oopsie?"

    At his mention, a vibrant blue frog with yellow spots on its back leaps off Belladonna's shoulder, where it had been hiding behind her bouncy cascade of ebony curls, and lands in her upturned palm. An effortless move for the woman and her beloved familiar.

    "You didn't weather the Burning Seas to exchange idle chat, I hope." Auntie Grimm clicks her tongue, as if in punctuation. A cold fire lantern hanging behind a carved wooden screen answers, casting intricate shapes across the myriad of archaic and mysterious objects in the cluttered apartment. Belladonna picks up a golden femur, inlaid with elegant silver runes, and turns it over, attempting to act casual.

    "Odelia did it." Belladonna said as she looks up from the bone, her eyes twinkling as she shares the news. "She was right about Somborn. The Erudite labs are now open to us!"

    "The ancient incantation and Envar rune worked." It wasn't a question, but Auntie Grimm waited for Belladonna's acknowledgement.

    "Yes, you were right, of course. They were the keys to opening a stable portal into Ultera."

    "Good. Now it's up to the Vodlaks. If they succeed, Ballentree will get what she needs. And we will be one step closer."

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    In the Loping Plains' village of Somborn, a society of secretive witches and warlocks—known as The Dreadfell Coven—have opened a portal to the Erudin experimental labs of Vasty Deep located somewhere within Ultera. The labs had long been a hidden temple for the amoral exploration of magic and science as well as mutation and intelligent design, often performed on living creatures. And sometimes with monstrous results even after Odus' displacement! Driven by their incessant desire to expand their proficiency in the arcane, the Dreadfell Coven are on a quest for knowledge and items. Nothing is too foul, or too holy, for their interests. They are seekers of artifacts and knowledge with no respect for ownership or ethical usage. And now this clandestine coven is in the middle of a raid upon the labs.

    It'll be up to you to seek out the enigmatic Dr. Arcana to find out what adventures lay ahead.

    What's New

    • New Dungeons:
      • Raid dungeons:
        • Plane of Shadows Raid challenge
      • Heroic and Solo dungeons
        • Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Solo]
          • 6 bosses
          • 18-hour minimum duration
        • Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Heroic I]
          • 6 bosses (PUG/Casual friendly)
          • 18-hour minimum duration
          • Plunderable
        • Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Heroic II]
          • 6 bosses
          • 18-hour minimum duration
          • Plunderable
    • New Missions
      • Daily missions available for Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Solo]
      • Weekly missions available for Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Solo]
      • Daily missions available for Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Heroic I]
      • Weekly missions available for Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Heroic I]
      • Daily missions available for Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Heroic II]
      • Weekly missions available for Vasty Deep: Toil and Trouble [Heroic II]
      • Weekly Raid Challenge Missions
    • Overland and City additions
      • A new portal added to Somborn in Loping Plains will provide dungeon access. Seek out Dr. Arcana as soon as you arrive. (Level predicated for players 120+.)
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  2. Aelissa Well-Known Member

    I loved these zones so much! SO happy they are coming back into play. Thank you.
  3. Jamzez Active Member

    Sigh on the old zone reuse when for an extra 5 bucks you can just play the new DDO mini expansion and not feel deja vu.
  4. Ichoris Well-Known Member

    Yeah I agree. I really hate the zone reuse. We get it all the time. I was hoping it would be a new zone. On the other hand at least it's new content and something new to do for people at max level to do. I wish they made content for all types of players (Casual, TS, Etc) but what can you do. I tried it and can't even get past the first solo mob. Got some work to do on my character it seems.
  5. Cusashorn Well-Known Member

    All three Vasty Deep zones are among my all-time favorite zones in the game. I'm so glad they actually did reuse Abandoned Labs, because seeing that Megalodon shark swim by the glass wall in the library is always so awesome. The adventurer in me wants to know what is going on in those other buildings in the distance.
  6. Schmetterling Well-Known Member

    lol get a prestige house , and break out and you can even build something behind those facades and you will know exactly what's going on
    otherwise I think those buildings would be the housing .
    My favorit zone in the vastly deep is the Preservatory .
    It must have been nice to have all that green so far under ground and under water .
    I always imagine how those places where before they were damaged and abandoned .
  7. docdante Member

    Great to get this zone back and now give us Nektropos Castle and The Estate of Unrest...
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  8. Innoka New Member

    Let me start by saying that I enjoy the Vasty Deep Revitalization. There are so many great and mostly unused dungeons (let's call it Old World content) in this game and it's good to see them getting fresh coat of paint. That being said, I do have 2 points I would like to touch on. First, the legendary weapon drops in Vasty Deep have great stats EXCEPT for their damage which seems incredibly low when compared to weapons drop in the Luclin zones. Second, what is up with cloth gear that have melee and tank stats? This kind of cloth gear drop is much more common than cloth gear with caster stats (yeah yeah, I know... I can reforge, but still). :D
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone and Breanna like this.
  9. Cusashorn Well-Known Member


    Yeah I've been breaking out of houses since the Qeynos 5 room was given the balcony add-on, and I'm aware those are probably domiciles, but I still want to explore them.
  10. Carribea Active Member

    i got my butt handed to me from the first set of mobs, tried several times, total no go...... doesn't seem to be doable as a casual player...... which is rather sad
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  11. Beee Well-Known Member

    I generated a fresh lv 120 character, got additional free items from Lockbox, used my claimable merc and cleared VD solo
    The zone is doable :)
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  12. Evangel Member

    Trash mobs should be doable with careful pulling, they CAN overwhelm you but they are manageable. The issue i find, as a low DPS Templar, is that the boss mobs that spawn adds you need to take down quickly....we can't all burn through that many HPs quickly enough. DPS/Tank mercs are pretty inefficient so in order to do any RoS solo instances I always need to tag team with a DPS guildie.
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  13. Ichoris Well-Known Member

    @Beee I would love to know what class you picked and also the Merc you used and it's level. I have better than RoS quest gear (which is better than what you get from the starting lockbox) and have done all the upgrades I can right now as a casual player.

    I still have work to do it seems to get my character ready for that content. This is fine. Don't have a problem with that. Not all content needs to be easy.

    I wasn't able to get past the first boss with my Ranger and Oom as my Merc. I have the issue that @Evangel stated which is I can't burn the adds down fast enough and I also get stunned or something and can't attack or cast. Overall it's pretty frustrating and not that fun at the moment.

    I would love to know how you beat it using a new level 120 with the lockbox gear and a claimed Merc. I'm sure there is stuff I could learn from your advice. Thanks
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  14. Sionx Renaissance Ranger

    If you used the lvl 120 bauble then all of your combat abilities are at Master correct?
    Did you add the Panda enhancements as well?
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  15. Ichoris Well-Known Member

    Using the bauble will give you Masters? Interesting. That is one area I need to work on. Most of my spells need to be upgraded. It's just seems hard to do for a casual player. I'm sure that is part of problems I'm facing.
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone and Beee like this.
  16. Test Taffies Active Member

    Yeah because they don't seem to give a dust bunny about the casual players, or the issues they deal with. I struggle with all the solo instances on my average character. the one who was 120 prior to the whole luclin stuff being release, no 'master' spells here (no uber celestial TANK merc here (where are they anyway? Healers need a celestial tank merc!! (sidetrack - distracktion) because I only game casually for stress release and fun (try to anyway) ever since my spouse/gamer sidekick passed away. "kicks the ground" and "stamps the stubs of her legs where her little 'Tonga, invisible feets are'
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone and Lateana like this.
  17. Priority Well-Known Member

    Most masters drop in solos. Most red adorns drop in solos. Vasty and all original expansion solos are able to be done with a 230k, brand new alt with apprentice spells, crate gear, and an old expansion merc.

    Possibly reach out to another player that plays your class and ask for pointers. Most of the "solo only" players I talk to have terrible gear choices, bad AAs, and don't use their abilities correctly.
  18. Beee Well-Known Member

    I upgraded a necromancer with the lv 120 bauble, claimed Monila Lu'Cesi (and used a port to get it), got Jaraz mount from the merc in bazar (used coins and level ups from different toon, equipped with refinded shadowscream potency bardings and all other mount items shadowscream crafted too ~ 60k potency), A treasured season 8 familiar lv 10 with 7400 XP

    But no other equipment from other toons.. that would be almost cheating

    It was not a fresh toon - just a fresh 100 -> 120 toon :)
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  19. Beee Well-Known Member

    One thing has to be said: I really like the way the collections in ToT work.

    It's doable and you get a better way for an alt to get the ring too. A good mixture to get the reward. Well done!
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.
  20. Zinj Well-Known Member

    It's doable, but you need about 5000 resolve. If you can do the BOL solo content, you can do the Toils content. There are a couple of tricks to the zone. If this old duffer can figure it out without wikiing it, so can you.
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone likes this.