Meridian 59, Meridian, M59, Community, Weapon Craft, Kraanan, Faren, Riija, Shal'ille, Qor, Jala

Thrashers are extremely evil, dangerous beasts.  With their long reach, vicious melee ability and area attack they are formidable prey for even the most hearty adventurer.  Followers of the Goddess Shal’ille will find that they are uniquely suited to hunt thrashers;  However, any suitably experienced hunter can stand against them if they are careful and robust enough to withstand their assault.  Followers of Qor should be advised that Qor will abandon them if they kill her beloved Thrashers.  In this case, Qor does care. (*)

 

(*)Thrashers are negative karma beasts.  If a follower of Qor wishes to hunt thrashers and not lose his ability to cast karma based spells he must hunt in a group and not land any killing blows. 

 

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Where to find Thrashers: 

Thrashers spawn in the dark cavernous ruins to be found in the lower recesses of the Crypt in Marion.  The Marion Crypt is located across from the Limping Toad Inn.  The crypt is protected by a fence which forms a semi-circle about the structure.  The ancient gate is welded shut with rust and so, the only way to reach the crypt itself is to slip around either end of the fence.  (*)

 

(*) The residents of Marion refuse to fix the gate, in the hopes that it will deter casual trespassers who might wake things better left sleeping within.

 

Leve1 One: The Crypt in Marion

To begin your journey, enter the front door of the crypt.  Those of you who emigrated from Raza will quickly notice the architectural similarities between this crypt and the one found in Raza.   For those unfamiliar with the Raza crypt the layout is shown below, the entrance is marked by a 1.

Once you have entered the crypt proceed to the southwest corner.  You will find a large door with two levers, one located on each side.   There is a chamber behind this door (*), which must be cleared before a traveler can move on to the next lower level of the crypt.   To open the door to this chamber you will need the help of another adventurer, as the lock mechanism can only be opened by flipping both of the door levers simultaneously. 

 

(*) Marked as 2 on the map above

 

Once you have passed through the door, you enter a chamber, at the center of which, stands a statue.    At times you may find that the statue is guarded be a few spectral mummies, but this may not always be the case.  Enter the chamber and approach the statue, it should awaken as you approach.  When it wakes you should be able to attack and smash it to bits and kill any mummies present in the chamber to open the next level of the crypt.  If it does not awaken then slay any mummies you find in the chamber and approach the statue again.  If it still does not awaken, stand very close to the statue and have all those in your group flash (log off and on) together.  This should reset the chamber and allow you to get the statues aggression.  When the chamber is cleared a gate blocking the door to the next level of the crypt will raise.  Enter this door to proceed to level two. 

Leve1 Two: Resting Place of Marion's Ancestors

Upon entering the second level of the crypt you will find yourself in the resting place of Marion's ancestors at the location on the map shown below in the area marked 1. 

In this level of the crypt there are many statues, the number varies depending on how recently the area was last cleared.  In order to reveal the doorway to the third level of the dungeon you will need to awaken and smash every statue present.  These statues behave in much the same way as the one found on the preceding level.  It is best not to worry too much if one refuses to wake up.   Smash those that wake easily and go back for the others later.   If you are clearing them with a group have everyone split up to cover more ground.

 

It is best to move quickly, since your presence will tend to summon the dead to come and defend the dignity of the resting place.  If you tarry too long you will find your task of statue removal made more difficult by a tangled knot of skeletons.  If this happens and you have a follower of Faren in your party ask them to clear out the skeletons using earth quake.  Earth quake is also useful to help you determine know how many statues remain.  Sleeping statues return a message to the caster, by counting these messages you can figure out how many are yet to be smashed.  When every statue on level two is smashed, a stone panel will rise revealing the door to level three of the crypt (shown on the map above as 2).

 

Important Disclaimer:  If you found the prey on level two difficult or a significant barrier proceed no further.  The third level of the Marion Crypt is extremely dangerous and only mature hunters (100+ for followers of Shal'ille, 120+ for others) should press on.  Even for high level adventurers this is the most dangerous place in the world of Meridian.   High level hunters who can normally travel with impunity anywhere else in Meridian die here on a regular basis.  Bring nothing in with you that you could not bear losing.  If you do not rescue or elusion, bring a rescue potion.   You have been warned...

 

Leve1 Three: Affirmation of the Forsaken

When you enter the third level of the Marion crypt you will find yourself at the top of a short stairway
(1 on the map below). 

 

This small area around the stairs is one of the few safe areas you will find in this level.  This is the time to check your gear, mend what is worn and buff up.  

 

The lair of the thrashers forms a loop, which can only be traversed in one direction due to a series of  drop offs.  There are a series of gates which close behind you as you move forward and prevent hunters from being able to run through to the end the loop.  Upon descending the steps follow the path to the right you will find a gate shown on the map at 2 guarded by a single thrasher.   Should you arrive at the gate, find it locked and not see the thrasher, pace back and forth between the gate and the drop off leading back to 1, until he comes out of the wall.(*)  Once this thrasher dies, the gate will open you can continue.

 

(*) This particular thrasher likes to hide buried in the wall of the lair, we think it may have something to do with a particularly bad case of thrasher acne.

 

Take a moment to recheck your buffs and gear before you proceed. Due to the area effect which is inherent in the thrashers normal attack it is extremely dangerous to fight more than one at a time.  The best approach is to proceed slowly and attack only those who are actively aggressive.  Most of the tunnels that comprise the lair are narrow,  use this to your advantage and try to keep a non-aggressive thrasher between you and any aggressive thrashers you may not yet be ready to fight.  If you become overwhelmed by too many thrashers at once, truce is your best option.  If you can't truce then run ahead through the tunnels to as clear a spot as you can find and flash (log off and on quickly).  Flashing may cause the beast that was chasing you to lose interest. 

 

Another approach is to fight only thrashers which guard a gate, killing the guardian thrashers and then running past any other aggressive thrashers to the next guarded gate area.   The first gate is guarded by one thrasher as described above.  In this scenario, after opening the first gate you would run through to the next gate located at 3 on the map above.  You will jump down to get to 3 where you will find two guardian thrashers.  When your group jumps down it is best for the first person who descends to flash to help soften the aggression of the bests guarding the second gate. 

 

Once you have killed the two thrashers at the second gate you can proceed to 4 shown on the map above and repeat the same procedure for the three thrashers you will find guarding the gate to the chest room.  As was described above, the first person who jumps down should flash.  Once these thrashers have been killed, the door to the chest room will open and you will be able to access what ever treasure the thrashers have stored in the chest.

 

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Treasure & Loot

Thrashers drop a wide variety of useful items, inkies, blue dragon scales, dark angel feathers, purple mushrooms, armor, shields and at times special weapons.  They also seem to maintain their treasure chest proportional to the number of players attempting to assault their lair.  You will find that the greater the number of players present, the more treasure likely to be in the chest.  Chest treasure varies widely, from quest components, special weapons, plate armor, large quantities of reagents and at times shillings.

 

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Weapons:

For the first and second levels of the crypt the best available weapon is the Spirit Hammer.  If a spirit hammer is not available almost any other player summoned weapon will work just fine.  Statues are excellent for raising low percent, seldom used weapon skills.  So, if you have a low short sword or mace wielding skill, clearing the statues is an opportunity to raise that skill.

 

For level three the best weapon is a mystik sword.  A spirit hammer can be used in a pinch but is not optimal. 

 

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Armor:

For the third level of the crypt it is best to wear full, heavy armor.  Plate, Knight Shield and Guants, are worth the effort even for very high level players.  For the first two levels of the crypt you should unequip your armor to save wear.  Be conservative, if you need to wear armor for level two of the crypt you may not be ready to hunt thrashers. 

 

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Hints for followers of Shal'ille

Dazzle will only work on thrashers if it is cast before they are behaving aggressively towards the caster.  Once a thrasher begins to attack, casting dazzle will have no effect.  Since the reagents for dazzle drop frequently on the second and third levels of the crypt, it will save significantly on the number of herbs you need to bring for healing if you start attacks on non aggressive thrashers with a cast of dazzle.

 

Hot key truce and play with your sound on.  If you hear a member of your group getting low, truce first and ask questions later.  It can sometimes mean that multiple thrashers are angry which, if allowed to proceed can escalate quickly.  It is better to be conservative, truce and try to split up the aggrieved beasts to mitigate the damage before continuing.  The reagents for truce are often found in the treasure chest.  Don't be shy about asking your group for looting privileges on any sap that drops, after all it is for their benefit.

 

Thrashers cast enfeeble, keep either purify or cure disease hot keyed to use on group members.  Wait until the beasts being fought are dead, or truce and cast during the quiet.  Take your armor off to get the most effective cast possible.  You can adjust which spell you use to cure the enfeeblement based on which reagents are more prevalent in your inventory.

 

O;-)