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To begin the Hollow Island encounter, a
team must seek out the
Stinking Scorpiods, which will occasionally drop an
item called Scorpiod Droppings when killed. A good place
to encounter these Scorpiods is just to the west of
Hollow Island. When the Droppings have been acquired,
the focus shifts toward Hollow Island and the Sapling.
The Sapling
is initially a VERY small Sylvabane-like creature,
sitting at approximately the location shown in the map
below. If the Sapling is not there, it will likely
sprout again sometime in the next four hours, so
patience may be required. Once the Sapling has sprouted,
fertilizing it with the Scorpiod Droppings will turn it
into a Fast-growing Sapling, and awaken the Eremite
Broods. It is very important that, at this point, the
majority of the team or teams are standing at the
position marked Recommended Fight Location, and only one
or two people remain near the Sapling to pull the
Broods.
At this point it is extremely important
to note the following: once the
raid has begun, the Fast-growing sapling will hibernate
after a certain period of time, dependent on brood
level. Typically, the hibernation will occur with the
appearance of the Brood Champion. Failure to defeat the
Brood Champion before it retreats to its underground
lair will result in termination of the raid, as the
Sapling will not come out of hibernation unless the
awakened Champion is defeated. Further, killing of the
sapling at any point before the conclusion of the raid
or the appearance of the Champion will also terminate
the raid.
Shortly after the Sapling reaches level
25, First Brood Eremites
and First Brood Eremite Brutes
will begin to spawn. The people left near the Sapling
are responsible for pulling one to three Eremites at a
time back to the teams. Depending on the level of the
teams and number of people, it is important that the
pulls be fairly controlled and disciplined in the early
going, so the teams are in a groove, as the immunities of the Brood Eremites to Roots,
Snares, Calms, and Charms increase as the Brood level
increases (to the point that by the 6th Brood, there
will be no Roots, no Calms, and no Charms (100%
immunities)) and because the number of Eremites
appearing in each brood increases significantly.
Eventually, the Brood Champion will
spawn. There will be a total of 10 Champions (links
5 through 14 above) and their broods to deal
with, before the true leaders of the Eremites will
appear. It is advised that teams avoid the Brood
Champion until the majority of Eremites and Brutes have
been dispensed with. When the area near the Champion is
cleared, pull the Champion the same as the regular
Eremites are pulled, noting that they will begin their
fights with area effect nanos, and will begin running a
very destructive NanoChain when attacked. These nano
chains become extremely dangerous with the higher level
Champions. Indeed, the NanoChains grow to the point that
the Suzerain has 5
quick instant damage attacks that hit for a cumulative
30,000 HP and the Brood
Mother has a Nano Siphon DoT that absorbs 30,000 NP
on all players nearby, followed by four Health Siphon
DoTs that absorb 30,000 HP, 24,900 HP, 21,900 HP, and
18,900 HP respectively, followed by a wide area Stun. It
is imperative that any team or raid party expecting to
survive the higher level encounters bring along a
Meta-physicist. None of the Eremites or Champions at
Hollow Island have any immunity to Nano Shutdown, which
means it will land with relative ease and render the
NanoChains a moot point.
Finally, with everything else to deal
with, teams should take care to avoid losing members, as
those raiders that attempt to return will have to deal
with the Psionic Eremites,
creatures which my research indicates have the strongest
individual attacks of any creature on Rubi-Ka and the
ability to warp you to them at their whim. If attempting
to enter Hollow Island during a raid without the ability
to fly, you will be dead again, either instantly, or in
two hits, or maybe, if you're lucky, three, and if at
any point during the raid, either returning from death
or wandering about, a settler enters their attack range,
it's back to reclaim for them.
If the teams manage to take down
all the Eremites, there is still the matter of bringing
down the fully mature Sapling, otherwise known as the
Hollow Island Weed. This
version of the Sapling is a true monster, with a
dangerous NanoChain of its own, three major attacks,
including one against Poison AC, and its own set of
minions to go with it. While the Brood Mother may seem
like the final encounter, a complete raid will confront
the cause of all the problems at Hollow Island. |
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