Bat Ladies
March 10th
Highlights: Third Tier of Minas Ithil
Barad Elenath, the Star-gazers' Spire: About this time if you've seen one tower you've seen them all. There are a few things that do make this one a tad different. For example, there is a nice touch where there's a shadow from the light that shines from the tower through the bars. Also the Merrevail sometimes hang upside down from their little bat posts. It might be hard to see but you usually can tell when they are floating above the ground. Once you claim the camp, don't wander around too far because the door and camp is by the entrance.
Circle of Madness: Unlike the previous two tiers, this area can be very confusing to get around. Not only does it go half-way up into the extended middle portion but it abruptly ends on both sides of the fortress. This area is known for its crevices where auto-bestowed bosses and rare mordor chests like to dwell. Keep an eye out for those mushrooms too. If you start seeing weeping children, you've gone too far. There's a couple of interesting quests rescuing rangers and shooting down bats with conveniently placed ballistas. I was kind of disappointed that you couldn't go up the orc ladders but then you do get a quest later on to knock them down.
Private Instances: You won't find any doors you can enter through in this tier. Instead, they provide you with a series of instances that are very well put together. You get to see the flood of bats fleeing Sergost (make sure to look up) in "The Red Sky Darkens", Viznak King of Agarnaith, meet Lhaereth the Stained and overhear her intentions in The Hall of Black Lore in "Nothing for Nothing", rescue your goblin friend, and see Dolenthol in action in "Viznak Lives". Of course this all leads up to Ghashan-kútot, the Hall of Black Lore. The Hall of Black Lore is a very interesting instance where they cycle through bosses of old to fight against you. This seems to change every week. The good news is you can solo this, the music is spectacular, the voice-overs are wonderful, and the concept in itself is neat to explore. The bad news is that the boss mechanics don't always translate well, there's sometimes a glitch between what is verbally announced and the actual introduction of the boss, and the obscure items on the buggy ground has caused heartache for, not just me but quite a few people I know. I also don't understand how soloing will spawn a boss with 16,000,000 morale and going in with a group will spawn one with 12,000,000 morale. It is still a neat experience regardless.
2020-03-23