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Arcane Sanctuary:
Recommended Level: 17-20
Quest Given By: Jerhyn
Location: Arcane Sanctuary
Difficulty: Hard
Reward: None, Essential Quest
Objectives: Find Horazon’s Journal
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Introduction:
The Arcane Sanctuary is one of the toughest dungeons in Act II, featuring a nasty network of narrow catwalks suspended in the middle of space. It’s mix tough monsters and confusing portals form a deadly concoction that can fell the unprepared adventurer. Completing the quest actually fulfills two, as The Summoner, a boss you’ll need to kill for quest five, guards Horizon’s Journal. Many of the monsters you fight here will attack with fire, and hence any auras or items that protect you against such a elemental will be most helpful. By now, there’s no longer need to hire mercenaries, they’ll die far too fast.
The Harems:
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| The Harems are no problem after what you went through in the Claw Viper Temple. |
When you proceed down the spiral staircase from the ground level of the palace, you’ll be in the Harems. The first level is small, full of cushions and other luxuries, but no monsters. Take either the staircase on the left or right and you’ll be in level 2. From here you’ll see pools of blood, impaled corpses and lots of other gruesome things. The monsters are near.
Hulking Blunderbores, Dune Beasts, Invaders (tougher Marauders) and a variety of Horrors populate the level 2 Harem. Blunderbores can deal and take significant damage, and hence it’s best to deal to them via missiles. The Horror Magi and the Horror Archers fire deadly lightning, it is best to kill them first. You’ll find a staircase on one of the corners of the level, take it and you’ll be in the Palace Cellars.
The Cellars:
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| While the horrors tend to resist lightning, Nova is still the perfect spell when surrounded. |
The Palace Cellars hosts the same monsters, but you’ll find that the Horror magi and Archers now frequently shoot at you from behind the protection of bars. Horrors resist lightning in general and hence you should avoid the use of lightning spells. They’re however quit weak against physical as well as fire or ice strikes. The first level here will contain a waypoint, get it before proceeding downwards.
There are three levels of cellars, and the staircase downwards is usually found on the corners. As long as you avoid fighting a dozen archers behind bars or rushing headlong into a room, they should give you no problems. Explore each level fully before proceeding to the next, you’ll need all the experience you get. You’ll also find a waypoint
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| Sucuring the Portal to Arcane Sancturay isn’t hard, it’s what comes after. |
The Portal to Arcane Sanctuary lies in the center of the level 3 cellars. Once you reach the room, a dozen Invaders and Blunderbores lead by ‘Fire Eye’ will face you. All of them including their hero are melee attacks, so the best way is to fight them at the doorway. This way only a few can attack you at once. None of them are too tough, and you can break through easy. Click on the portal at the center of the room to activate it, and teleport yourself into the Arcane Sanctuary.
Navigating the Arcane Sanctuary:
Now the hard part begins, the Arcane Sanctuary is a series of narrow walkways suspended in the void. You’ll see a waypoint directly below the portal, activate it before doing anything else. There are four routs from the Waypoint, each leads toward a corner of the Sanctuary. Horizon’s Journal lies at the end of one of these passages, while the other three leads to 3 glowing and gold (all well guarded of course).
Three of these walkways are nearly identical, while the fourth hosts a series of teleportation portals. The journal’s location is randomly generated, and could be at the end of any of the four walkways. Due to the nature of each walkway, I suggest you explore the three passages that lacks portals before exploring the fourth (Basically retreat and try another if you see a Red Portal).
The Walkways without Portals:
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| Lightning Bolt is a perfect spell for the Sorceress here. With all your foes piled up into a nice line, you can barbecue them all in one shot. |
As you explore any of these walkways, they’ll branch out in different directions. Always choose the one that leads as far away from the waypoint as possible, choosing another will simply lengthen the time required to reach your destination. The Place is guarded by Hell Clans (Tougher Blood Clans), Ghoul Lords (Tougher Banished) and Specters (Tougher Wraiths). Each of the three monsters are dangerous, so beware.
If your are Warrior, you won’t have to worry about the Specters. The Blood Clans are tough fighters, but due to the nature of the walkways, only 2 or 3 can fight you at a time. The Ghoul Lords, however are another matter. These deadly mages can cast powerful forms of Fireball and Firewall, the latter making it hard for you to stay in one spot. They’ll often be attacking from secondary platforms, and hence a missile weapon is extremely helpful. Retreat if ever outnumbered, so that the monsters leave their platforms and follow you onto the narrow walkways, this way you can kill them one at a time. Always engage the Ghouls Lords first if you possibly can.
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| A Necromancer unleashes a power Bone Spear right along the walkway, nailing everyone in reach. |
Mages have a tougher time, as the Ghoul Lords are partially resistant to all elemental magic. It’s probably best to curse them with cold or Iron Maiden and engaging them by physical combat, as they are quite weak against physical attacks. Long Range spells such as Bone Spear and Lightning Bolt are particularly useful against Hell Clans, for the same reasons as the Maggot Lair (see here). Also avoid using fire spells, as both Ghoul Lords and Hell clans are highly resistant.
In this fashion, explore each walkway till you reach the end platform. You can recognize it from the fact it has three glowing chests and a symbol that looks much like a waypoint imprinted in its center. These platforms will be guarded by Lightning Towers, which are tough, but have a slow attack rate. Always engage the tower in melee, as their melee attack does significantly less than their missiles. After collecting the items, return to the center waypoint to explore another walkway.
In ever while exploring one of the walkways, you hear evil laughter, you’ve found The Summoner and the Horizons Journal. To find out how to fight the boss, scroll down to the heading ‘The Summoner.’ If all three walkways end in platforms like the one mentioned above, you’ll need to explore the fourth, the one with many portal.
The Walkway with Portals:
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| The Nature of the Portalled walkway make it very likely that you’ll enter a missile duel with Ghoul Lords. In this case, get rid of the specters first. |
This is the most difficult of the four walkways, filled with a network of confusing Portals that teleport you from one place to another. Missile weapons are essential, as Ghoul Lords will burn you with Firewalls and Fireballs while you decided which portal to take to reach their platform. Bone Magi, Bone Spear, Arrows or Glacial Spikes are your best bets.
Before teleporting through a portal with an unknown exit, make sure to kill all the monsters on your screen, especially if you’re a mage. You might end up on a platform surrounded by Hell Clan, and be taken down in Seconds. Bone or Shiver armor are exceptionally useful in remedying the situation.
The Portals however has one advantage, and that is dodging enemy spells. When having a ranged duel with the Ghoul Lords, stand next to a portal. This way you can beam away if they ever cast Firewall or Fireball at you. It’s a great way to dodge enemy fire. Once the Ghoul Lords are dead, you can take out the Fire Clans on the platform with ease, as they have no missile retaliation. In this fashion, explore the last walkway. If the three other are already explored, Horizons Journal will be located at the end of this one. As before, stop as soon as you hear an evil laugh.
Killing the Summoner:
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| Facing the Summoner spike for spike, it’s a spectacular duel to watch. |
When you hear the evil laugh, the quest icon will appear signaling that ‘The Summoner’ quest is now available for you to complete. Take a portal to town and feel free to inquire about who he ism; Drognan will yield the most information. Buy plenty of healing potions and portal back to face the boss. Launch a portal here in case you die.
The Summoner has extremely long range, and will attack you with a barrage of Fire Walls, Fireballs and Glacial Spikes if you proceed any further. Run in and run out to lead his minions away, and face them when you are out of the Summoner’s range. These are just hell, and are easily vanquished.
The Summoner is located at a ramp far above you, and you’ll need to take the staircase to reach him. His spells deal horrendous damage, and you’ll find 100 hit points go down in a flash when standing on his walls of fire. However he has very little hitpoints (About 100), and will die almost instantly once you reach him.
The best way here is to simply charge, even if you’re a mage. His missiles and firewalls will miss you as long as you keep moving. Blaze through the walkway, up the stair and onto his platform. Drink a healing potion if he hits you with anything and attack. He’ll die after a few hits… In this case, do not hesitate or be cautious, it’ll only get you killed.
You’ll find Horizons Journal on a stand in the same Platform. Reading it will reveal the truth of Tal Rasha’s Tomb. A Portal is Launched, enter and you’ll find yourself in The Canyon of the Magi. Get the Waypoint before returning to down. Only one more quest and Act II is complete.
Class Specific Tips:
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| Here a Necromancer secures his own Platform with Corpse Explosions before turning his attention onto less pressing matters. |
Blood Golem is essential in navigating the Arcane Sanctuary. It’s ability to give you life and regenerate allows him to hold of the enemy while you cast the spells. Amplify Damage is a powerful curse here, use it to enhance the damage of your Bone Spears on tight walkways. Cast Iron Maiden or enemy Ghoul Lords so that they’ll die from their own fireballs. Bone Magi are also useful for shooting enemies on other platforms, however be prepared to unsummon the Bone Magi, since they’ll often leave you stuck. Don’t bother with skeletons, they are ore hindrance than help here.
When facing the Summoner, curse him with Iron Maiden as soon as you seek him. With his weak hit points and high damage, he’ll probably kill himself from shooting at your golem.
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The Horadric Staff you wield is extremely powerful, and you’ll find that it actually makes your sorceress a decent melee combatant. When fighting through the Arcane Sanctuary, use Nova against the Specters and Hell Clans, and Glacial Spike against the Ghoul Lords. Due to the fact that the Ghoul Lords have higher resistance to all elemental attacks, your best chance if to kill them with your staff after freezing them with a Glacial Spike. Otherwise the mana drain will probably be too great for you to sustain. Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning is also extremely effective during the narrow walkways, as you’ll find your bolt will strike numerous targets at once.
When fighting The Summoner, run up to his platform at your fastest speed. If you stand still for only a few seconds, the damage his firewall deals is enough to kill you. Once on top, use Glacial Spike to duel against him. As long as you have a few healing potions, he won’t stand a chance.
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Leap Attack and Howl are your too best spells here, since the nature of the walkways will often leave you trapped. Howl will cause your enemies to stumble over each other in panic, giving you the opportunity to deal free hits. Use Leap Attack whenever you’re trapped, so you can deal death to the Ghoul Lords firing from behind their Hell Clan ranks.
When you face the Summoner, simply charge. Use Bash to bring him down with the minimal amount of blows. Don’t bother with strafing, it’s just a matter of reaching him.
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The tight catwalks here can work to your advantage and disadvantage. Keeping Zeal as your primary attack, take out the Hell Clan one on one on the catwalks. Use either Thorns or Holy Freeze as your aura. Thorns are recommended, as it’ll kill the Ghoul Lords faster. Take it slow so not to get surrounded and watch out for Specters that may come at you from the sides. When you reach the teleporting area, use the Thorns Aura, as you're sure to be surrounded by enemies. The Summoner is no match whatsoever to a Paladin, you can take him down in a few hits, using Resist Fire or Thorns Aura..
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Ice Arrows will prove invaluable in this level due to the narrow walkways. When met with Hell Clan, freeze the front two and the rest will also come to a halt. This will buy you time to get rid of the cowardly Ghoul Lords behind. When navigation the portals, make sure to shoot down all enemies on adjacent platforms before taking the portal. You do not want to be surrounded by a dozen Hell Clans.
When fighting the Summoner, charge onto his platform and attack either with Cold Arrows Impale. Decoy will also be helpful in sucking away his fire.
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