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The Guardian:
Recommended Level: 22-27
Quest Given By: Ormis
Location: Durance of Hate
Difficulty: Moderately Hard
Reward: Allows Act IV
Main Objectives: Find and Kill Mephisto.
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Introduction:
The last quest of Act IV is rather difficult, mainly due to the monsters rather than the final boss. While Mephisto still poses significant threat, it is his servants that you’ll need to beware of the most. Mephisto himself is tough, but the poor AI allows you to destroy him with ease.
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| It’s good that Golems don’t feel pain, since that’s got to hurt. |
In order to kill Mephisto, a missile weapon is almost essential. If you’re not a mage, it is suggested that you keep a lookout for a decent bow, just for this quest. The walkthrough starts on the basis that the Compelling Orb is destroyed, and that you have found the entrance to the Durance of Hate.
Navigating the Upper Levels:
The Durance of Hate consists of three levels, with Mephisto located on the third. Each level is of mediocre size, but may be slightly twisted and hence a little more time consuming to navigate than other dungeons of the same size.
The upper levels (levels 1 and 2) host of Dark Lords, Undead Stygian Dolls (Tough Undead Flayers), Warped Ones (Tough Fallen), Cadavers (Tougher Plague Carriers) and perhaps Wailing Beasts (Tougher Gargantuan Beasts). There are few monsters in the first level, but more in the second.
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| The Dark Lords and Blood Lords are most vulnerable to lightning, and hence one should use such attacks or spells when facing them. |
Attack each species as you would in previous quests. Keep moving to dodge Firewall and Comets, engage Dark Lords first and avoid being surrounded by Stygian Dolls or walking over a newly dead Cadaver. None of the monsters will pose a big problem and you’ll find your war to level 2 in no time.
Here, search for a waypoint before proceeding to level 3. When you find the staircase down, it is recommended that you summon a portal. The monsters below are extremely tough, and there’s a chance that you could die.
Mephisto’s Minions:
Killing the monsters guarding Mephisto are perhaps the toughest aspect of the quest, you’ll be faced with a Dozen Blood Lords (Tougher Night Lords) the moment you enter Level 3. These guys are deadly, and extremely resistant to cold. Engage each lords separately and kill it before moving onto the next. You may need to retreat back to level 2 several times before you can kill them all.
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| Level 3 of the Durance is fixed, and we’ve included a large portion of it for your convenience. The strategies below will often refer to this map. |
Once all the Blood Lords are dead, proceed to the top left. The doorway here will lead into a large chamber, which hosts the Hell Portal, your gateway to Act IV. A dozen Council led by three unique monsters guard the portal, they are fast and deadly.
You’ll be facing three heroes at once, Bremm Sharkfist (Aura Enchanted, Lightning Enchanted), Maffer Dragonhand (Extra Strong, Extra Fast) and Wyand Voidfinger (Mana Burn, Teleportation).
There’s very little chance of being able to take them all out at once, so your best option is to retreat. Make sure you aren’t forwards toward the portal (unless you have teleportation), or you’ll find yourself with nowhere to go. Instead run back the Blood Lord Chamber in an effort to isolate Dragonhand. Kill him first before you engage the rest. Leave Sharkfist till last, he only gets dangerous when you hit him.
Summoned hydras will pose a big problem here, and it’s best to retreat if a Council Member ever summons one. Your goal here is to separate them as much as possible and to kill each one when he’s on his own.
Once all the Council members are dead, proceed cautiously through the doorway on the left-hand side. Follow the chamber upwards as you skirt around the lake of fire. Be prepared, Mephisto is just around the corner.
To Kill Mephisto:
Proceed into the chamber very slowly, you want to lead out just Mephisto, not the Blood Lords that reside in his treasury. As soon as you hear his chilling voice, flee back to chamber A (see our
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| Mephisto himself is easy. As long as he’s trapped on the other side of the fire lake, you’ll have nothing to fear. |
included map). As long as you are fast enough, Mephisto’s poor AI will cause him to get stuck at point X (see Minimap). He’ll be pacing back and forth, unable to reach you.
Now retreat as far away from Mephisto as possible, until you can just see him on the corner of your screen. Arm yourself with either a bow or long ranges spells and attack him till he dies. Due to Ai Problems, Mephisto won’t cast any spells as long as you don’t venture near him. It may take a while to kill him, especially if the bow is not your best weapon, but it’s definitely the safest way.
On to Act IV:
When Mephisto is dead, proceed into his chamber and go to where the treasury is marked on our map. Dispose of the Blood Lords that guard it and open each chest, they’ll be filled with gold and magical items. When you’re ready, step through the portal to Act IV.
Class Specific Tips:
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| A Blood Golem here is the key to victory. Not only does it absorb most of the damage, it’ll also give you life. |
The primary spells here are still Iron Maiden and Amplify Damage. Coupled with a Blood Golem, they make you quite invincible. Use Amplify Damage against the Night and Blood Lords, and Iron Maiden against the rest. Corpse explosion will do a great job to finish everything off. You may like to summon an Iron Golem when going against just Mages, but mostly stick to the Blood Golem.
Use the same method as above when you fight the council members, but make sure you stay well away from the lightning enchanted hero. Summon another Golem when your original one dies, and let Iron Maiden to all the work. When you face Mephisto, get him trapped as noted above and fire Bone Spears till he dies (Amplify Damage will hasten the process.)
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| Teleportion is extremely useful when you face the council members. Here a Sorceress is able to summon a Blizzard after teleporting herself to an adjacent platform. |
Glacial Spike remains as your primary spell here, unleash it upon everything you see. You’ll however need to switch to fire or lightning attacks against the Blood Lords. Recommended spells include Nova and Fire Wall.
The Council Members here are difficult, and it is essential that you use hit and run. Make sure to single out the Extra Fast hero and destroy him first via Glacial Spikes. If you have Teleport, it is a great way to evade the council members by teleporting from one side of the Fire Sea to another. When fighting Mephisto, lead him to Position X and fire a barrage of either Fireballs or Glacial Spikes.
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Navigating through the Durance is easy, and Double Swing should now be used as your primary attack. Whenever you’re surrounded, use Leap Attack. It is also a great way to destroy the pesky Blood and Dark Lords.
Engage the Council Members in melee combat in the Doorway, this way you’ll have no fear of being surrounded. Once they’re destroyed, you can leap directly from Platform A, to Platform X. While the Barbarian can destroy Mephisto in Melee Combat, you can play it safe by leaping back to Platform A. Now kill him with a Bow.
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Mephisto may pose a threat to some classes, but not to the Paladin. Hence you should be able to defeat him without havign to use a bow. A good strategy against Mephisto is to have good lightning resist. Use any lightning resistant amulets/rings you may have. Zeal should be kept as your primary attack, and Thorns can be helpful, but a Lightning Resistant Aura can really help in making his spells futile. Keep your belt full of Healin Potions, and a few Rejuvenation Potions, for a quick refill when things get dangerous.
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When you face the Council Members, let them come to you by either firing your bow or throwing Javelins. Attempt to kill the extra fast hero first before engaging anyone else. Now retreat to the doorway and let them all come to you. Cast Decoy and then proceed to eliminate Dragonhand. Once his dead, kill all the other council members, leave the lightning enchanted hero last. Now retreat and blast him with Ice Arrows, as long a you keep a fair distance from him, his charged bolts can’t harm you.
Mephisto here is easy, as the Amazon is adept with all missiles. Lead him to Position X as stated and send a barrage of Javelins or Arrows. Note that Lightning has little affect on the boss and hence don’t bother with any lightning skills.
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