Aboleths
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Contents |
Introduction
The Aboleth run is broken into 2 parts.
Successful completion of the first part results in the party finding the Dimensional Stabilizer which is used to access part 2 from the interlude map, any tagged loot can not be used until you successfully complete part 2.
Successful completion of part 2 results in the party winning, among other things, The Hand of Vecna and an item rumored to grant access to the Elder Evils (future addition).
The tag is given on successful completion of part two which then allows use of loot from both parts one and two, whilst there is a miniboss at the end of part one there is no tag associated with killing it and it is possible to go on a part two run and receive the tag without ever completing part one.
Refer to Aboleths Lore for more information on those creatures and the plane.
Requirements
This is one of the most difficult runs currently available in HG, usually reserved for those who have experienced all that Hell has to offer. The entire run, both parts 1 and 2, except for an interlude map, occurs underwater.
All of the following are considered "minimum requirements" for this run and are not optional:
- Water Breathing and immunity to Mordenkainen's Disjunction (preferably from Ring of the Planewalker or Ward of the Ixitxachitl)
- Confusion Immunity (whenever Aboleth Savants are present)
- Immunity to Breach Spells (pt 2 mostly)
- High Concentration skill (or Daze Immunity)
- High immunity and resistance to Ac El Po
- An item with Spell Immunity: Entangle (for the first maps, when Kuo-Toa Thrall (darts) are present provided by any of the following set items Links of Binding, Kelpweave Robe, Netbreaker and Webdancers) or by a random property on other gear.
- Remove inflicted vulnerabilities often
All tanks will want to have immunity to spells of level 6 and lower, since Bigby's Interposing Hand is very troublesome.
It's highly advisable to be demigod in order to equip Asmodeus Artifacts and Ring of the Planewalker as there's no layer penalty.
- The run is a Fugue area for both Immortal & Demi-God characters apart from the two Forgotten Sea maps and the Lost in Space and Time intermission map.
General Notes
- The minibosses throughout this run are truly horrible to behold and are difficult for just about any party.
- It's recommended to have a full party of 10 although presence of core classes can make this less necessary.
- Counterspellers are very useful against some mini-bosses.
- At least one Shifter with construct form focus is very advisable (two can significantly seed up the run) as there are many creatures that can be poisoned, also Outsider forms are helpful with the Modron trap working well.
Spells
See the Aboleth Bestiary for some spell suggestions and tactics. Additionally, useful spells (some may require minimum levels to be effective) include: Banishment, Bigby's Forceful Hand, Crumble, Disintegrate, Flesh to Stone, Heal & Mass Heal, Implosion, Infestation of Maggots, Mass Restoration, area Mords, Nature's Balance, Remove Curse, Remove Disease, Remove Fear, Resurrection (scrolls and rods do not work in some special cases), soup & stoning spells and Weird.
Useful epic spells include: Greater Ruin, Contingency, Death of Magic*, Aegis, Girding of the Faithful, Instruments of Faith, Miracle, Immutable Force, Dirge of the Deathless, Possums Farce and Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.
- Death of Magic is the best way to kill Flux Slimes - so it's recommended to have at least 2 casting per rest (either from two casters or one with PSK Necromancy)
Weapons
- Generally speaking, Slashing weapons are best, and Fire and Positive are the best two types to deal since the boss is also an Aboleth. Toyshop weapons are ideal in this regard.
- Besides that, a weapon with Cold Fire Sonic & Positive Divine & Magical is a good choice.
- (note: Cold & Divine are only of limited use on the run
- Avoid Electrical & Negative in that they heal key monsters and/or minibosses, but are otherwise useful for other enemies.
- Bludgeoning weapons containing Magical and Positive are particularly useful for bashing Eidolons of all types (mobs and minibosses). Acid is also useful on non-boss Eidolons.
Areas
The Aboleth areas can be reached from the Great Cavern. The entrance is behind the Drow Gate, in the northeast corner of the map, next to the water. One can also find a book with flavour text nearby (see the top of this page). Water Breathing is required before leaving Great Cavern.
The first 3 maps are "free rest" and are necessary for both part 1 and part 2.
Spawn Structure
Spawns are not dynamic in that the numbers and types of creatures do not scale with player group size, paragon type creatures do not spawn in this area, however the mix of creatures present in spawns will vary on a per server reset basis.
Transit
Transit with mobs alive No.
Beginning
Forgotten Sea - Pelagic Descent
The first 2 maps are full of Kuo-Toa and assorted underwater monsters. See the Aboleth Bestiary for details.
One of the loot drops on this map is a stack of 10 Hissing Potions. These are used during the final fight with Eldest in part 2.
Forgotten Sea - Abyssal Overlook
This map is a maze of islands connected through vortexes. Not all islands are visited on the correct path through the maze. Explorers may wish to see them all.
- Some parties choose to mark the path on the mini-map. Make sure to not move after embarking onto a a vortex as spawning creatures will prevent other members of your party making the transit, whilst immortals can not fugue here it can make completing the area problematic if suitable characters have not made it through the portal.
- There is a secret room on this map which contains 7 loot drops. Getting out of this secret room requires help from a party member who bashes a specific rock. Doing this causes the secret room and all it's contents, PCs included, to empty.
- One of up to four secrets can be found on this map.
- At the end of this map is the Pseudonatural Megalodon mini-boss. When defeated, he drops a weapon and the party proceed through the portal to Lost in Space and Time.
Lost in Space and Time
This is the interlude map. It is safe to rest here. This map provides an excellent opportunity to recast fire-based weapon buffs. The exit is a portal in one of the corners. Resting beyond this point requires the use of your rest ring.
If you are doing part 1, you need to proceed to Far Realm : Shallows and then you will go onwards to Gate of Athak-Thon and Gate of Ilsharvesh. If you are doing part 2, the owner of the Dimensional Stabilizer needs to unlock the option to access this part of the run. You will then proceed to Far Realm Depths and onward to Gate of Mordu the Black and Ur-Gate.
After completing part 2, the party are returned to this map, and a random member receives the key to unlock the loot, which is contained within a locked temporal disturbance.
If you are returning from part 1 or part 2, you need to return to the depths beneath Ascension which will put you in Forgotten Sea - Pelagic Descent then use the vortex to transit to the start of the map and use the exit. Running around is not advisable unless you want to extend the run by spawning more monsters.
Part One
Far Realm Shallows - First half
This map will be done in 2 halves: one before Gate of Achak-Thon and one after. One of three mini-bosses will spawn at a random location on this map:
- a gem dragon,
- a basilisk abomination, that inflicts Piercing vulnerability with his manticore-like attack, and does lots of Negative
- a Stygian Aboleth, Emissary Shu Klatraoh, that uses stone spells and web, in addition to regular skills.
This is also the first map on the run in which you can find Aboleths & Aboleth Savants and Dream Larvae.
Gate of Achak-Thon
Aboleths, Dream Larvae and Ruin Swarms should be more prevalent on this map than the previous.
- This map contains a portal, guarded by the Devastation Crab. Be prepared for party-wide Negative kickback and a nasty green Acid cloud.
Far Realm Shallows - Second half
If no mini boss spawned in the first part, it will spawn now. Watch out for Kuo-Toas.
Gate of Ilsharvesh
This is the final map of part 1. There are no Kuo-Toas on this map, so Spell Immunity: Entangle is no longer required. The most frequently-encountered monsters are Eidolons, Skum Thralls, Crystal Ooze, Shaboath and Aboleths. Motes can be found in a set chest on this map. Do not forget to search for secrets (there are 4 spots, 1 will be active).
The Firstforged Eidolon drops the Dimensional Stabilizer and the part 1 run is complete when he and his minions are dead. He takes only BludgeoningSlashingPiercing and has a random amount of heals that can not be blocked or pickpocketed.
Part 2
No secrets have ever been found on any of the maps in this part of the run.
Far Realm Depths - Part 1
This map is also done in 2 halves, either side of Gate of Mordu the Black. As with Shallows, one of three mini-bosses will spawn at a random location on this map: a demi-lich (even more powerful than Dulvuroth), an elemental (... of sorts) (can drop the very useful Mortal Failings ring) or the extremely rare (1% chance) artifact-dropping mini-boss.
Gate of Mordu the Black
Mordu-that-Was is an extremely old and powerful Aboleth Savant. He guards one of the gates. He also has a mass of minions including Aboleths, Aboleth Savants, Flux Slimes, Phanes, and various fogs & mists.
His lair is a very wide, open map holding many triggers of large spawns. His spells are particularly debilitating (Weird, Horrid Wilting, Disintegrate, etc.) and the party will want to have him counter-spelled as much as possible. He also has an amnesia attack. This can be one of the most painful fights in the run as unless you have amnesia immunity you will rapidly find that you have lost all spells and abilities that require resting to use. Fighting Mordu effectively requires constant counterspelling to prevent unpleasant spell spamming and dismissals to remove his summons. If you do not have amnesia immunity you will likely have to use multiple ring rests for this fight alone leaving you severely depleted for the final map.
Spell Immunity: Entangle is not needed on this map.
Far Realm Depths - Part 2
If no mini boss spawned in the first part, it will spawn now.
Ur-Gate
NOTE: Once a player has entered this map at least one character MUST STAY HERE if the others ring rest or you will despawn the boss, unlike other areas this is an instant effect so if your party 'crashes out' the boss will despawn even though its minions will still be present if you manage to return fast enough.
This map contains even more Aboleths & Aboleth Savants and 'The Eldest' an aboleth of overwhelming power, there is the additional challenge of the map itself being very difficult to navigate, in some ways like the Elemental Plane of Air, except pitch black and with many confusing visual effects. Use the minimap to view your progress as you will not be able to see the floor at all and moving using the keyboard rather than the mouse is usually the best plan.
Spell Immunity: Entangle is not needed on this map.
| Boss Strategy Spoiler Warning! |
|---|
| 'The Eldest' will test the ability of even the strongest parties, when it spawns it will immediately duplicate itself, the form that can not be damaged is not the real creature and will disappear after a period of time leaving you to deal with the real Eldest. Keep counterspelling to ward off the practically infinite quantity of Weirds and other unpleasant spells it will cast at you. When it gets to badly wounded it will summon allies including mists and slimes so be ready to dismiss and kill these. When you kill it the first time it will summon Aboleth Savants to aid it in its fight, try and keep these under control whilst killing 'The Eldest' for the second time as when it dies you will shortly after be automatically transported to The Lost in Space and Time map whether you have killed the Savants or not. Whilst there is no loot chest in this area one of the characters in the fight will have had a Probability Collapser placed in their inventory (look for a message about gaining an unidentified item), use this and it will generate a Collapsed Probability in which you will find a random selection of Aboleth loot, including the Hand of Vecna artifact. |
Strategy and Tactics
- Since SR is a problem, it's required to use either Nature's balance or AoE Mord.
- The only way to reliably breach the defences of the Savants is to have a Paladin with the Holy Sword spell active (or use wands with Holy Sword spell on your weapons) beat on them which can strip away their protections extremely quickly.
- If multiple Aboleth Savants are spawned, it's a good idea to cast Death of Magic to avoid their deadly spells, like Weird.
- Be careful when spawning, since several enemies tend to spawn behind their spawn point, effectively isolating whoever is spawning, Shadowdancers can reduce the chance of issues here with the ability to shadow step back to other party members.
- Try to keep your position or return to secure areas after spawning, as running around can incur extra spawns potentially overwhelming the party.
- Aboleth Savants are immune to Greater Ruin and have Contingency (which means you have to fight them twice).
- Flux Slime (part 2 only) are immune to level 9 and lower spells, have extreme SR (120) and can only be killed in 2 ways: Death of Magic; or being melee'd to death with non-magical Piercing & Slashing weapons, bought from the Weapons Shop in Ascension or Feywild weapons (completely unbuffed). Any buffs of any kind (including GMW and IoF) will be drained and will heal them. Additionally, auras like Battletide & Invisibility Purge will also heal them. [I suspect Divine Might also but need to confirm.]
