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Siege on Harrogoth
Recommended Level: 27-32
Quest Given By: Larzuk the Blacksmith
Location: Bloody Foothills
Difficulty: Easy
Reward: Socket an Item
Main Objectives: Kill Shenk the Overseer
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Getting Started:
This walkthrough, being the first one for the Diablo II Expansion, will assume a number of things. It is written for those people who are playing Act V at normal difficulty, and designed for characters who've just beaten Diablo. . While people player on a higher difficulty levels using high level characters may find this walkthrough help, it isn't designed for them specifically.
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| No, you don't need to kill Diablo again to get to act V. Just go talk to Tyrael and a portal to Harrogath will magically appear. |
After defeating Diablo, go back and talk to Tyrael. A portal will open, step through to get to Act V. After been treated with a nice cinematic (Couldn't that guy negotiate from inside the fortress rather than outside?), you'll be brought into the heart of Harrogoth. After you've gotten bored exploring the town, talk to Larzuk the Blacksmith on the bottom right of the town. He'll give you your first quest, 'Siege on Harrogoth': "If you're here to defeat Baal, you must prove it!
As we speak, Harrogath is under siege by Baal's demons. Catapults rain death just outside the town walls.
Baal himself travels up the sacred mountain, having left in charge here one of his most vicious generals, Shenk the Overseer. A ruthless taskmaster, he lashes his own minions into suicidal frenzies on the battlefield.
If you wish to prove yourself to us, destroy the monster, Shenk, that commands those infernal catapults outside Harrogath. If you manage to do this, return to me."
Before you set off, a few tips on preparation. You won't yet be able to hire Barbarians, but this quest is much easier if you've got a hireling. I suggest going back to hire a Mage from Act III. Not only will these guys give ranged support that you'll need in the Bloody Foothills, but even in the worst case scenario, they are a cool mobile stash. Once ready, enter the Bloody Foothills via the city gate.
Multiplayer Tip
If you want to save time, get someone to create a town portal near the Frigid Highlands waypoint, then simply backtrack to the foothills and you'll immediate see the Overseer. Cheap, but effective.
Ascent and Destroy:
The Bloody Foothills is a fairly linear area that basically just keeps going up. As long as you're ascending, you're in the right direction. You'll meet plenty of Enslaved and Death Maulers, as well as the odd catapult scattered about. The Enslaved are melee attackers, and are easy foes since they don't have any Overseer support (So they can't become suicidal or frenzied).
Death Maulers
They are your biggest threat. Death Maulers have a ranged attack that'll become a major annoyance as half of the time you can't reach them directly from where you stand. If you're a melee fighter, skills such as Leap Attack, Dragon Flight etc will be very useful here. Spellcasters and Amazons should try to element the Death Maulers first before the Enslaved. This is why, a hireling from Act III will prove very useful.
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| The Poison Catapults are the only one's you should seriously worry about. Once you turn green, expect all you life to just fade away. |
Catapults
Most catapults are fairly weak, and you'll barely notice the damage they do. The only exception is the Poison Catapult, which deals damage in the hundreds. You'll find that you'll need to use up about three super healing potions to get you and your hireling back to full health. In fact, it may even be worthwhile to invest in an antidote potion or two. Catapults are usually protected by impassible terrain, and hence it's best if you and your hirelings have some sort of ranged attack
On the way up, you'll meet a number of Barbarians fighting for their lives. In short, these guys suck, and are there mostly for ambience. What's worse, it seems like enemies who hit these barbs don't even take damage from Iron Maiden. Save a few if you like, if only just for fun. While the Barbarians do move up hill after you defeat their enemies, they're incredibly slow and will often get stuck behind cliffs or under trees.
After climbing up two dozen or so ramps, the passageway will narrow. Here, you'll be intercepted by a bunch of Gremlins, as well as a Gremlin hero. These guys are fast, but weak, and you shouldn't have much trouble, especially if you have a hireling mage to freeze them in their tracks. Once they're dead, the passage will widen again, and there'll be more ramps to climb. Just keep ascending, till you reach the Overseer.
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| A smart Necromancer assaults Shenk's forces from the right hand side. As you can see, the Enslaved are too dumb to reach the Necromancer, which make 'em easy kills. Shenk himself is harmless without minions to whip. |
Shenk the Overseer:
Shenk's easy to defeat, provided you take a little care. You'll know that he is close once you reach a place where there are a number of catapults located much closer to each other than usual. Once you kill these, there's two ways to assault Shenk himself.
If you're primarily a ranged attack, I suggest attacking from the side, Shenk surrounds himself with a swarm of Enslaved, but these Enslaved have pathetic pathing capabilities, and will have no clue how to get down from higher ground to reach you. Simply shoot them all down, then move forward a little to start blasting Shenk himself. Without his minions to frenzy, Shenk is an easy kill.
If you're a melee fighter, it'll probably be better to just do a frontal assault. Try to lead away and kill as many of Shenk's minions first before engaging Shenk himself. Either way, Shenk is just a tougher overseer, who can't even resurrect dead Enslaved. Once all his minions are gone, Shenk is a pretty pathetic boss.
After you kill Shenk, walk up the hill a bit more, and you'll be in the Frigid Highlands. It's a good idea to get the Waypoint right in front of you, before going back to town or exiting the game.
Socketing an Item:
Once you go back and talk to Larzuk, he'll be overjoyed and will offer to create sockets in an item of your choice. Before you happily go use up this precious bonus, you should know that the number of sockets that appear on your chosen item will depend on what type of item it is:
Normal Items: The item will get the maximum number of sockets that item type is allowed, so that's anywhere from 1 to 6
Magical Items: One or Two Sockets
Rare, Set, Crafted or Unique Items: One socket only
Choose wisely. Like Charsi's imbue, I would wait for the perfect item before wasting this precious ability.
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