Looting Burial Isle the easy way (spoilers)
Aerich
Member Posts: 276
I recall this area as properly beastly, many moons ago. So much so, that I typically finished the main game to the point of no return before tackling HoW. Unfortunately, such a strategy removes the possibility of obtaining some nice weapons and spells and using them for the majority of the game. I have now seen the light. I have seen in several locations references and some tips to getting through Burial Isle with a low(ish) level party, but few clear directions.
Therefore, this post.
The beauty (or design) of it is that a reasonably balanced party with thief, cleric, and mage can get through Burial Isle easily even at the lowest levels (level 9 mage gets you 5th level spells, but as long as you can cast 3rd level spells you will be fine) and with the modest resources available.
What you need:
1) Thief with high find/remove traps skill (multi, dual, single class, whatever).
2) Cleric (memorize that Sanctuary)
3) Arcane caster with Invisibility, Invisibility 10' Radius, and Contact Other Plane (the latter being optional, for one item). The Lonelywood innkeeper sells all, iirc. Otherwise, Invisibility can be found in the Vale, and the other two can be purchased from Orrick after travelling to Dragon's Eye.
4) A couple invisibility potions for backup. Speed potions and + to saves potions (e.g. invulnerability) can also be used by the careful looter.
Step 1) Arcane caster learns/memorizes Invisibility and Invisibility 10' Radius, and Contact Other Plane.
Step 2) Upon arrival, cast Invisibility 10' Radius and wander the entire upper area - leaving only the boardwalk areas in the northwest so as to avoid triggering dialogue.
Step 3) Go underground, still invisible, and your party should stay by the exit while the thief explores the area while detecting traps, and removes all traps found. Note where the containers are, and the demon. Do not trigger dialogue in lower left corner, but if you do, find out what is going on without being too nosy then take the first opportunity to agree to leave. If it ends your invisibility, gulp a potion so you can get back to the party in safety.
Step 4) Arcane caster goes to demon, and casts Contact Other Plane to get the armor, casts Invisibility on self if needed, goes back to party (this step can be skipped).
Step 5) Cleric with Sanctuary (still invisible) gets close to a container, casts Sanctuary, grabs the loot, makes a beeline to the nearby containers, gets back to party and all go back to the tower. You must get there, or at least to an area with no enemies, so you can recast Invisibility 10' Radius, because the Sanctuary duration isn't long. Alternative - cleric casts invisibility on self (if a cleric/mage) or drinks an invisibility potion. It may also be possible to cast Sanctuary again before the first runs out and thereby extend the duration. Repeat process until all containers are empty. I've found that 2-3 casts of Sanctuary with a level ~9 cleric are sufficient, even when returning to the tower area.
Step 6) This is the tricky part. Cleric with Sanctuary triggers dialogue in lower left corner underneath, finds out why the spirits are angry, promises to leave, then grabs the contents of the big tomb quickly and goes full speed back to the party. Sanctuary is still active, so cleric isn't targeting and slaughtered by WVs and others. Mebdinga and some cohorts will follow you, even to the surface, and occasionally wail, so you need to go fast. Once at the surface, go fast (sense the theme?) to the tower and get inside without any hostiles in view at the time. If they are too close, you will need to lose them, perhaps by going underneath and surfacing at a different exit, before you can go back to the tower safely. Then rest in the tower.
Step 7) Now go visit Hjollder. You don't want to see Mebdinga or any other aggravated WVs because they might follow and wail, so be careful of which entrance you use. Resting may also reset their position and buy you a little more time.
Step 8) Get back to Young Ned and leave clearing Burial Isle of hostiles to later.
Congrats, you have a ton of XP and loot, without a battle.
I should mention that if I have a druid, I will often clear the surface of Burial Isle (sometimes skipping the Polar Bear Spirit) between step 2 and step 3, as a way to be even safer, and get good XP with relative ease, even at clevel ~10 on HoF. Summons, Entangle, and Call Lightning, with choke points and a bit of arcane support (e.g. Web, Grease), are second only to high-level Turn Undead for ease of clearing the surface of Burial Isle.
Therefore, this post.
The beauty (or design) of it is that a reasonably balanced party with thief, cleric, and mage can get through Burial Isle easily even at the lowest levels (level 9 mage gets you 5th level spells, but as long as you can cast 3rd level spells you will be fine) and with the modest resources available.
What you need:
1) Thief with high find/remove traps skill (multi, dual, single class, whatever).
2) Cleric (memorize that Sanctuary)
3) Arcane caster with Invisibility, Invisibility 10' Radius, and Contact Other Plane (the latter being optional, for one item). The Lonelywood innkeeper sells all, iirc. Otherwise, Invisibility can be found in the Vale, and the other two can be purchased from Orrick after travelling to Dragon's Eye.
4) A couple invisibility potions for backup. Speed potions and + to saves potions (e.g. invulnerability) can also be used by the careful looter.
Step 1) Arcane caster learns/memorizes Invisibility and Invisibility 10' Radius, and Contact Other Plane.
Step 2) Upon arrival, cast Invisibility 10' Radius and wander the entire upper area - leaving only the boardwalk areas in the northwest so as to avoid triggering dialogue.
Step 3) Go underground, still invisible, and your party should stay by the exit while the thief explores the area while detecting traps, and removes all traps found. Note where the containers are, and the demon. Do not trigger dialogue in lower left corner, but if you do, find out what is going on without being too nosy then take the first opportunity to agree to leave. If it ends your invisibility, gulp a potion so you can get back to the party in safety.
Step 4) Arcane caster goes to demon, and casts Contact Other Plane to get the armor, casts Invisibility on self if needed, goes back to party (this step can be skipped).
Step 5) Cleric with Sanctuary (still invisible) gets close to a container, casts Sanctuary, grabs the loot, makes a beeline to the nearby containers, gets back to party and all go back to the tower. You must get there, or at least to an area with no enemies, so you can recast Invisibility 10' Radius, because the Sanctuary duration isn't long. Alternative - cleric casts invisibility on self (if a cleric/mage) or drinks an invisibility potion. It may also be possible to cast Sanctuary again before the first runs out and thereby extend the duration. Repeat process until all containers are empty. I've found that 2-3 casts of Sanctuary with a level ~9 cleric are sufficient, even when returning to the tower area.
Step 6) This is the tricky part. Cleric with Sanctuary triggers dialogue in lower left corner underneath, finds out why the spirits are angry, promises to leave, then grabs the contents of the big tomb quickly and goes full speed back to the party. Sanctuary is still active, so cleric isn't targeting and slaughtered by WVs and others. Mebdinga and some cohorts will follow you, even to the surface, and occasionally wail, so you need to go fast. Once at the surface, go fast (sense the theme?) to the tower and get inside without any hostiles in view at the time. If they are too close, you will need to lose them, perhaps by going underneath and surfacing at a different exit, before you can go back to the tower safely. Then rest in the tower.
Step 7) Now go visit Hjollder. You don't want to see Mebdinga or any other aggravated WVs because they might follow and wail, so be careful of which entrance you use. Resting may also reset their position and buy you a little more time.
Step 8) Get back to Young Ned and leave clearing Burial Isle of hostiles to later.
Congrats, you have a ton of XP and loot, without a battle.
I should mention that if I have a druid, I will often clear the surface of Burial Isle (sometimes skipping the Polar Bear Spirit) between step 2 and step 3, as a way to be even safer, and get good XP with relative ease, even at clevel ~10 on HoF. Summons, Entangle, and Call Lightning, with choke points and a bit of arcane support (e.g. Web, Grease), are second only to high-level Turn Undead for ease of clearing the surface of Burial Isle.
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Comments
The tip is to cast the long term protective buffs on the top, particularly by other characters on your designated looter. I cleared the top first, but these can be cast in or just outside of the tower too. It doesn’t seem like there’s many traps doing elemental damage, but I cast those wards anyway, along with Death Ward and PfE 10’. I did my looting with a F/C/M, so I also cast Spirit Armor for the saves bonus. Notably that spell can be cast on others and lasts for 3 turns, so it’s very worth it here and can be used by a non-mage looter (cleric)- just make sure to drink healing potions if your hp are low, so the spell doesn’t kill you when it wears off. I got everything on one trip, recasting Invisibility after clearing a cluster of containers then recasting Sanctuary when at another cluster.
However, I took only Wylfdene's Talisman and Glabrezu's cursed armor. ?
Yes, it's possible to re-stealth! ? When U go from Wylfdene's tomb toward Hjollder, it's possible to Hide in Shadows just after turning around the first angle. I succeeded even on my first try. However, wailing virgins follow you, so it's necessary to re-stealth the 2nd time immediately after speaking with Hjollder. ?
It's definitely very risky, not suitable for no-reload campaigns. ? Your suggestions are safer. ?
Try to win with a solo thief on HoF. ?
It's a bit of a necessity to avoid the tougher fights with a small and underpowered group, especially on HoF or doing a no-reload run. The idea is to safely advance the story and loot the good stuff, then come back later to clear it out properly.