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Return to Madstone Crater

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Return to Madstone Crater is the 1st quest in the Return to Gianthold story arcIcon tooltip.pngStory arcs  are chains of quests that make up a story line.
Completing everything in a story arc often yields a nice reward..
The first three quests can be completed in any order to unlock Return to Gianthold Tor.
Return to Madstone Crater • Return to Prison of the Planes • Return to Cabal for One • Return to Gianthold Tor • The Fall of Truth


Strange magic is maddening the giants in Gianthold. Its source is somewhere within the twisted passages of this crater.

Ruins of Gianthold adpack icon.jpg
DDO Point icon.png Requires access to adventure pack: Ruins of Gianthold
Return to Madstone Crater
Heroic level: None
Epic level: 24
Duration: Very Long
Heroic XP: Madstone Crater
Epic XP:  ♣16,514Solo/Casual ♦28,374Normal ♥29,225Hard ♠30,077Elite
Takes place in: Madstone Crater
Bestowed by: Hworrl ar'Bryssan
NPC contact: Hworrl ar'Bryssan
Quest acquired in: Gianthold
Patron: Agents of Argonnessen
Base favor: 8
Purchase: Ruins of Gianthold or VIP
Extreme Challenge: No
Map complete with tunnels
Path to quest entrance
Loading screen

Overview

Hworrl ar'Bryssan says a strange madness has come over the giants around the Tor. He sent three seers and a small war party to Madstone Crater, where he believes its magical cause is based. Join them there, and see that the madness does not overcome the giants attempting to stop it.

Spoiler Warning: Spoiler material below this point!

Objectives

  • Speak to the Fire Giant Chieftain
  • Rescue the first seer
  • Defeat the first Seer's Giant Skeleton Guards (4 total)
  • Meet the seer at the first crystal and start the shattering
  • Defend the seer until the first crystal is shattered
  • Rescue the second seer
  • Defeat the second Seer's Giant Skeleton Guards (4 total)
  • Meet the seer at the second crystal and start the shattering
  • Defend the seer until the second crystal is shattered
  • Rescue the third seer
  • Defeat the third Seer's Giant Skeleton Guards (2 total)
  • Meet the seer at the third crystal and start the shattering
  • Defend the seer until the third crystal is shattered
  • Return to the Fire Giant Chieftain
  • Defeat the skeleton warlock
  • Return to the Fire Giant Chieftain
  • (Optional) Clear the entrance field (20 total) — Bonus (25%): Epic( ♣4,129 ♦7,094 ♥7,306 ♠7,519 )
  • (Optional) Defeat fifty infected Storm's Heart — Bonus (25%): Epic( ♣4,129 ♦7,094 ♥7,306 ♠7,519 )
  • (Optional) Slay 6 Madstone Enchanters — Bonus (25%): Epic( ♣4,129 ♦7,094 ♥7,306 ♠7,519 )

What to Expect

Tips and Misc

Bug: Giant seers can fail to turn friendly if you have Aura of Menace Warlock ability active.

Walkthrough

(Based on Lost Leader's Guide)

The Fire Giant Chieftain inside the quest is Hworrl ar'Bryssan not Blaze ar'Rhind (from the Heroic version), however he is wearing Blaze's armor, not Hworrl's (based on their appearances in the public area). This impacts the quest in no way, but can cause confusion when looking for Hworrl to turn the quest in.

Stepping in will bring you to the first killing field – You have two options here:

  • First is to clear out the area before moving on (usually the wiser option until you know the dungeon well)
    • It can be a tough fight – Multiple waves of enemies spawn as the previous wave is taken down
      • Creatures that are insane due to the Madstone, such as the Minotaurs, are immune to mind affecting spells
        • Solid Fog, paralyzers and web help slow them down
        • Cloudkill and wounding weapons to drain CON work well
        • Alternatively, regular DPS works
      • Ogre Magi will cast Cone of Cold, Chain Lightning and Symbol of Pain
  • Second is to quickly take a U-Turn to the right, and deal with this place later

Once the entrance is clear proceed to the cave north-east of the entrance, marked "7" on the map.

  • This cave has a shrine to the right, a locked door to the left and an exit straight ahead
  • The locked door leads to an optional hall with a treasure chest
  • Note: The exit from this cave can be also accessed by jumping down from near the Third Crystal, so the optional corridor can also be left until towards the end of the quest

Head back out to the entrance area, then use the second cave entrance (just south of the quest entrance, "0" on the map) to proceed

  • There are 3 Seers to free, then 3 Crystals to be shattered. Each section has the same basic pattern:
    • Head through cave, killing Minotaurs, Trolls and Ogres, until you reach an area with bone gates
    • Defeat the Giant Skeleton Guards to open the gates
    • Kill the Madstone Enchanter in the room to free the Storm Heart Seer from domination
    • Speak to the Storm Heart Seer, then he will teleport to his Crystal
    • Head through cave, killing Minotaurs, Trolls and Ogres, until you reach the exit
    • Head across the surface, killing Minotaurs, Trolls, Ogres and Giant Skeletons, until you reach the Storm Heart Seer/Crystal
    • Protect the Storm Heart Seer as he dances a 3 minute-long ritual to destroy the Crystal
    • Head to the entrance to the next cave
  • Freeing the Storm Heart Seers
    • The Seer will attack you, but can generally be ignored (or kited) while you kill the Madstone Enchanter controlling him
    • Once the Enchanter is dead, remember to speak to the Seer – he will not move to the Crystal until you do
  • Protecting Seer at Crystal 1
    • The Seer will start dancing once you talk to him
    • The dance lasts 3 minutes and the Crystal breaks once the ritual is complete
    • The Seer will take damage from enemies – You must protect him while he dances or he will have to start again if his health drops too low (restarting the 3 minute timer)
      • The Seer will not die – he heals fully every time he restarts the ritual
      • Casting Invisibility on the Seer helps a lot as enemies will aggro on you, not him
        • There is no change to the Seer's appearance when the spell is cast from a Wand on the Seers. It's unclear if this is a visual bug or the spell is not working.
      • If the Seer takes damage, you (or a Cleric/FvS hireling set to Interact with him) can heal him, so he lasts longer
    • A wave of Minotaurs will come out of the gate at the bottom of the ramp to attack the Seer
      • Every Minotaur you kill will spawn another at the gate within a few seconds
        • A caster can turn the Minotaurs to stone, leaving them as statues for as long as possible – This prevents respawn
        • A high AC/low DPS character can grab aggro and keep it (taking them down very slowly), provided no-one else attacks them, preventing respawn
      • Once the Crystal is shattered, any remaining Minotaurs can be killed
    • The Seers can be protected by brute force, if no spells or delaying tactics are available, but it can be difficult
    • The cave to Seer 2 can be reached by going back down the ramp from the Seer until there is a path to the left (East), and following this to the next cave entrance ("Central Cave Entrance")
  • Protecting Seer at Crystal 2
    • This Seer is reached by proceeding through the next cave until a cross intersection is reached. Straight ahead is a shrine, to the left and right are locked gates.
    • Kill the giant skeleton guardians and the gate to the right opens, revealing the Seer and giant skeleton mage (per above).
    • Kill the giant skeleton mage to open the gate to the left, and then follow it to an exit.
    • Proceed directly south, up the slope to find the new location of Seer 2.
    • Don't kill the giant skeletons yet, they can block some paths to the crystal.
    • The Seer behaves the same way as with Crystal 1, but there are different enemies attacking. Useful buffs for the Seer include:
      • Invisibility (as above)
      • Cold and Electricity Protection/Resistance as protection against spells from the Runetusk War-Mages
      • Blur/Displacement
    • Minotaurs, Trolls and Ogres attack up the 4 ramps from below, while a Runetusk War-Mage attacks from above
      • Minotaurs use melee attacks only
      • Trolls, Ogres used ranged and melee attacks
      • Runetusk War-Mages use spells and ranged attacks
      • As before, enemies respawn if killed
        • Cloudkill at the bottom of each ramp, before you start the process, can bottle up enemies down below
        • Tactics used for Crystal 1 also work
    • The cave to Seer 3 can be reached by going back down the ramp from the Seer (almost back to the entry point), then taking the path to the right (North), and following this to the next cave entrance ("Northeast Cave Entrance")
  • Protecting Seer at Crystal 3
    • The Seer behaves the same way as with Crystal 2. Useful buffs for the Seer include:
      • Invisibility (as above)
      • Cold and Electricity Protection/Resistance as protection against spells from the Runetusk War-Mages
      • Blur/Displacement (especially useful due to multiple archers from above)
    • Ogres and Runetusk War-Mages will attack from multiple positions above
      • Ogres ranged attacks and melee if you approach them
      • Runetusk War-Mages use spells and ranged attacks
    • Minotaurs will attack up the single ramp from below
      • Minotaurs use melee attacks only
    • If you can cast Invisibility on the Seer, do it immediately after you talk to him (before anyone arrives on the ledge above) if you have a 3 minute duration clicky/wand or beforehand if it lasts longer than 3 minutes
      • The Ogres and Runetusk War-Mages will ignore the Seer and ignore you too if you are out of sight until Invisibility runs out
      • The party can then stand on the ramp, out of sight of the enemies on the ledge, and kill the Minotaurs on the ramp until the Crystal is shattered
    • If the Seer is not invisible and the party size is small:
      • A player with curative spells or a Cleric/FvS hireling can be positioned in sight of the Seer, but out of sight of the Ledges to heal him from damage from above until the Crystal is shattered
      • The rest of the party can then deal with the Minotaurs as above
    • If the Seer is not invisible and the party is larger:
      • The same tactics can be used as with Crystals 1 and 2
      • Melee characters can use the side ramp (or stand below it) to take care of Minotaurs, taking care not to stand where they can be knocked off
      • Casters with Charms/Flesh to Stone/Cloudkill are useful up top
        • Charm as many on the top shelf as you can, to have them fight one another
        • Solid Fog and Cloudkill can be used up top and on the ramp (to assist the melees)
      • A player with curative spells or a Cleric/FvS hireling can focus on the Giant, as above
    • Alternatively, it is possible to grab the aggro of all the enemies on the top shelf (grabbing aggro works more consistently by being near them when they get into position), then hide at the mouth of the ramp out of range of the attackers and kill the Minotaurs as they arrive. The enemies on the top will not re-aggro onto the seer, despite not being able to hit you. Works well for solo or very small groups without any of the aforementioned tactics available.
      • Note that if you fall off the edge, you will fall into the lava below. The lava can be tanked long enough to wade to the exit tunnel that leads back up to the starting field (the ramp is surrounded by Deep Lava, which does significantly more damage, so be careful!). From there, you can get back to the crystal by retracing your steps (though it is a long walk, movement speed increasing items/spells are recommended!).
      • BUG: It is unknown exactly how, but it is possible for the third seer to be "dislodged" from the crystal. He will slide over to the mouth of the ramp the Minotaurs arrive from and will continue the ritual there. This does not affect the ritual in any way, though it does make it slightly harder to protect against the Minotaurs, since the seer is closer to them and one will frequently take a shortcut and slide up the steep slope. This seems to happen most consistently when a solo player falls off the plateau.

Once the third crystal is shattered, jump down to the lava river to the south

  • The entrance to the first cave with the optional chest is there ("6" on the map), giving access back to the entrance area
    • The optional can be completed now if it wasn't done earlier
  • Head up to the entrance area to speak to Hworrl

Hworrl tells you the gate to the Madstone is now open, now you just have to fight your way up to it

  • Clear the path of the final infected soldiers, and get ready to run up the spire
  • There are Xoriat Chaos Orbs, casting random effects, on the top of the spire. They are almost impossible to avoid due to the small size of the area
    • Cast Death Ward and any other relevant buffs spells need to compensate for Orb effects
  • Sprint to the top and fight the Red-named Warlock of Madstone, a giant skeleton
    • He will often have spell immunity protecting him from most 4th Level and lower spells, so watch his inspection screen to confirm what defences he has
    • The Warlock can cast Telekinesis to throw you off the spire. He tends to do this at low health, so placing a stationary source of damage (such as artificer's Flame Turret) can be useful to deal damage while you are walking back.
  • The End Chest is on top of the Spire after defeating the Warlock (even though the quest does not complete here)

Head back to Hworrl to complete the quest.

Bonus XP

  • Aggression bonus: 33 or more monsters killed +10% Bonus.( ♣-0 ♦-0 ♥-0 ♠-0 )
  • Onslaught bonus: 67 or more monsters killed +15% Bonus.( ♣-0 ♦-0 ♥-0 ♠-0 )
  • Conquest bonus: 100 or more monsters killed +25% Bonus.( ♣-0 ♦-0 ♥-0 ♠-0 )

Loot

  • Chests: 3
    • One in the second Seer room
    • One behind a locked door for killing the triplet of Madstone Enchanters
    • One Epic Chest at the end for killing the Warlock of Madstone
  • Collectables: 8
    • Adventurer's Pack in the entrance area
    • Fungus Patch near the first Seer/Madstone Enchanter
    • Rubble on the path to the first crystal
    • Alchemy Table near the second Seer/Madstone Enchanter
    • Adventurer's Pack a bit off path to the second crystal
    • Fungus Patch near the third Seer/Madstone Enchanter
    • Rubble on a ledge at the path to the third crystal
    • Cabinet near the triplet of Madstone Enchanters
  • NPC rewards: standard

Named Chest Drop

Ancient Band - Ring

Axe of Adaxus - Battle Axe

Crystalline Scepter - Club

Girdle of Giants' Brawn - Belt

Iron Beads - Necklace

Steady Handed Armbands - Bracers

Monsters

Name ( picture ) CR Type Race
Blackheart Fiend-Blood ( view
Blackheart Fiend-Blood.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦15Normal ♥17Hard ♠20Elite ●♦25Epic Normal Giant Troll
Blackheart Warmonger ( view
Blackheart Warmonger.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦15Normal ♥17Hard ♠20Elite ●♦26Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard ●♠61Epic Elite Giant Troll
Giant Skeleton Barbarian ( view
Giant Skeleton Barbarian.png
 • edit ) 		 ♥16Hard ♠19Elite Undead Skeleton
Giant Skeleton Warrior ( view
Giant Skeleton Warrior.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♥16Hard ♠19Elite Undead Skeleton
Infected Minotaur ( view
Infected Minotaur.png
 • edit ) 		 ♥17Hard ♠20Elite Monstrous Humanoid Minotaur
Madstone Enchanter ( view
Madstone Enchanter.png
 • edit ) 		 ♥17Hard ♠20Elite ●♦26Epic Normal Undead Skeleton
Runetusk Berserker ( view
Runetusk Berserker.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦15Normal ♥17Hard ♠20Elite ●♦26Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard ●♠61Epic Elite Giant Ogre
Runetusk Ranger ( view
Runetusk Ranger.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦15Normal ♥17Hard ♠20Elite Giant Ogre
Runetusk War-Mage ( view
Runetusk War-Mage.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♦15Normal ♥17Hard ♠20Elite ●♦25Epic Normal ●♥29Epic Hard ●♠58Epic Elite Giant Ogre
Storm Heart Seer ( view
Storm Heart Seer.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♥15Hard ♠18Elite ●♦25Epic Normal Giant Giant
Warlock of Madstone ( view
Warlock of Madstone.jpg
 • edit ) 		 ♥18Hard ♠21Elite ●♦29Epic Normal Undead Skeleton


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