Rygar
05-23-2018, 10:58 PM
I've been digging around for any and all info on the Hole to make it as 100% classic as possible. I think I have a pretty good list of what needs to be done to restore this magnificent zone to the glory it deserves.
Firstly, here are some open bug reports I've made or contributed to, of which I feel there is good enough evidence to warrant the requested change:
Keeper of the Tombs spawn location adjustment (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281615)
Teleport Area bug (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274802)
Faction Con Messages (Elementals, Fiends, Rock Golems) (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296988)
Missing Item: Blood Flecked Obsidian Shard (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296710)
Missing Item: Copper Medal of War (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281243)
Missing NPC: Retseth Tretse (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258957)
This next report has some good evidence, but not 100% sure if it was only for a short time and changed. I list some reasonings for it in the thread:
Fusible Earthen Ore as a ground spawn (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281241)
This final report can be moved to resolved, I made it when I was a P99 noob and thought it would 'make sense', but have seen reports of Dartain agroing through the wall in Classic due to the boulder not being a good door:
Dartain the Lost - agro through the door (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229889)
So onward to some more changes!
All About Doors:
1) Tower Door
The very first door you encounter by the tower should be unopenable, even with maximum lockpicking. It is currently pickable on P99. There are some inconsitent reports of sit agro occurring through the locked door to pull mobs, do what you will with that...
Relevant Loc: 440, -630, -80
Evidence:
6/23/00 (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/I1DKVWfkre4/mk7sL5WKUmQJ;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
First rock golem we saw (still close to zone)was lvl 53 - hit pretty hard (140's) and damn fast, also had quite a few hp.
We cleared quickly to the open area and decided to go up the ramp to the tower. I was 'volunteered' to check the door :p - I did and it was locked.
Our 200+ skill rogue couldn't pick it so we were about to abandon the idea and try the ramp down to the floor when a golem comes straight through the locked door and starts beating on me, followed by about 6 of his friends
https://web.archive.org/web/20020425125820/http://everquest.allakhazam.com:80/db/zones.html?zstrat=99
Posted @ Sun, May 13th 1:44 AM 2001
Please tell me there is someone who knows the answer to this question.... Where do you get a key to the front door of the castle tower???
Have tried lockpick with a capped rogue...bought the key from paineel, it only works for the zone in door. Please help. ...a very frustrated rogue
9/23/01: (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/EYla8_BPx00/wot6l0aAa80J;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
Also,
you can get at least 1-2 mobs (usually golems) from the tower if you sit
by the locked door. Maybe more depending on the level of who sits down.
4/15/02 (pre-revamp): (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/blnFdTmFc5s/sPkOsxMmF2QJ;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
We decide to pull the three mobs in the tower with the locked/unpickable door. You can't hit them with arrows. They were too far away from the door to aggro by sitting next to it.
This map was from the Steve Prutz archive and mentions unpickable:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_castle_top_cattie.jpg
2) Grate in Castle
There is a grate in the castle that guards an underwater tunnel to a series of rooms. On P99 it is set to always be open (meaning, the grate itself is stuck in the 'open' position, it should be closed blocking access to the tunnel), it should be locked (but pickable). I have not found the exact mention of what skill is required to pick it (apologize for that).
Relative Loc: 497, -182, -194
Evidence:
https://web.archive.org/web/20020228140728/http://everquest.allakhazam.com:80/db/zones.html?start=25&zstrat=99
Posted @ Fri, Aug 25th 4:14 AM 2000
Now, I'll finish up by asking a question.. in the very first castle, if you go into it rather than on deeper, you'll find a locked grate in a water-filled room. Having a rogue pick the grate, you can proceed through the water into an isolated area with 4 rooms and nothing more
http://web.archive.org/web/20020331185633/http://eqbeastiary.allakhazam.com:80/search.shtml?start=75&zone=99
Posted @ Wed, Jul 5th 2:41 PM 2000
I wasn't able to get all the way in because i kept getting jumped by rats and also dont have the lockpick skill. (found a locked grate at the end of a hall under some water) *grins*
This site (http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/hole.htm) hosts a whole plethora of maps from the Hole, there are mentions of the grate being locked in these:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_zealott.jpg
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_castle_cattie.jpg
3) Doors to Teleporter / Shissar Calendar
I have to say that I do recall the teleporter door being locked on live, I remember seeing it on a map and going down with my warrior and having our group there, but could not open it. I wanted to try and get sit agro to get a golem in there to attack me, damage it, and have it summon me in, but I couldn't get them to agro. I don't remember if we had a rogue with us or paineel keys to test.
Nevertheless, I only have this map piece as evidence:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_e_city_archaneandorion.gif
It mentions the door is locked by the teleporter, and it also shows a door to the shissar calendar room that is locked. There is currently no door on P99 to the Shissar Calendar, and the teleporter door is unlocked (sucks as I use this door a lot).
Admittedly this is some weaker evidence as it is only my memory and a map mention, but it is very hard to find information about this room, I don't think a lot of people knew about it. I gather the teleporter room is at least pickable or open with perhaps paineel key as people knew there were teleporters. Do with this what you will...
Relative Locs:
Teleporter Door = 28, 346, -384
Shissar Calenar Door = 35, 290, -384
Various Mob Details:
1) A Fallen Erudite (and other various ghost changes)
These should be sitting skeletons with no name shown overhead (classic for old world skeleton model). I do have a memory of these jumping up at me during a crawl on live and freaking out, but have some evidence to back that up. I also question if their faction is correct.
Relevant Locs:
810, 445, -655
792, 591, -669
766, 535, -680
766, 494, -680
803, 515, -680
785, 465, -680*
*Note that this last loc needs its position tweaked slightly I believe. It is currently on top of the broken lid of the casket instead of inside the casket as the map indicates.
Both these maps from the archive mention they are sitting skeletons:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_g_archaneandorionbelgar.gif
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_g_mid_archaneandorion.gif
A bit of weaker evidence but in my thread about the Keeper of the Tombs spawn point adjustment there is a picture of him at rest (notice he is not 'rooted' as he is not looking directly at the person taking a screenshot). The spawn point of the skeleton is in the background, if he was standing you would see him.
I believe this is why "Ghost of Glohnor" is sitting by default when he spawns, because his placeholders are sitting.
One final mention about these creatures is their faction. They are currently on MinionsofUnderfoot faction, which means they are social with rock golems / fiends / elementals. I know some sites had listed that, but I have seen them also list ghosts on MinionsofUnderfoot which we know is not correct. I question if this was an error on the page. I don't have access to old logs from EQMac or wherever, but hopefully you guys do and can check some of those faction hits? Entirely possible it was classic, but I've come up dry on finding any kind of hard info on it.
A few last mentions about the upper graveyards here... according to the maps there is a missing ghost spawn in the east graveyard, approximate loc: 800, 487, -655
I also believe there should be an additional 'a fallen erudite' in place of a ghost. You currently in the West Graveyard have a ghost at approximate loc 787, 610, -670. If you look at the map, the coloring and call out actually mention this mob to be a fallen erudite, there is another position in that same yard as Ghost of Glohnor (who spawns in place of fallen erudites). So that is why I believe it should be changed.
I suggest moving this spawn slightly to 787, 617, -670 (besides the casket, not on top) as this is more in line with these mobs being 'hidden' and jump up at you by surprise.
Also just inside the tower, in that open room, it appears as if you are missing a mob spawn (ghost). Relevant loc is 863, 525, -661 (right in front of the chair, suggest facing South to stay with the mood of the room). This room is pretty brutal to pull even before the sneak nerf, so adding more mobs makes it even tougher, but it appears to be legit.
2) A Missing Rock Golem
In Master Yael's chamber there is a missing rock golem
Suggested Loc: 615, 458, -907 (Facing East)
Evidence:
This guide is what was used to place mob locations on P99 (I believe) and was definitely done pre-revamp to the zone. Others have listed various iterations of it in alla comments in era, so I have high confidence in it being classic:
http://www.angelfire.com/freak/eqjonze/guides/oldworld/thehole/TheHoleGuide.htm
https://web.archive.org/save/_embed/http://hiddenmentors.tripod.com:80/hole_guide.htm
The writer mentions there is a missing mob (a rock golem) in Master Yael's chamber, just to the right of the boulder as you enter:
There's some oddity about the room that you need to know before charging in and taking him out. The first thing is that there is one mob missing from the map above, a rock golem that is stationed RIGHT inside the room on your right at "2". Grab him and pull him back to the group to be killed.
He also mentions he doesn't recommend going down the waterfall from docks as there is the golem:
Last thing you want is someone not swimming properly, falling, and dying from that or your best tank being the first down, or a cleric, and then getting death touched. You also then have to contend with four mobs plus Master Yael because you can't pull the golem and fiend prior to your assault.
Side note: I'll need to look into this more, but I do seem to remember that pool didn't stop fall damage from docks. You had to 'swim down' the waterfall to survive, which was harder than it sounds. Perhaps some physics stuff where shallow pools slowed descent instead of stopping? Would need to look into that more.
3) Dartain the Lost: Flagged as Undead?
I couldn't find any mention of this, but on P99 he is flagged as undead despite having a live body model. I only saw on Magelo he was listed as body type: undead / unknown. I couldn't locate any player comments of him being undead such as undead only spells landing on him.
Is there any solid evidence to keep him flagged as undead?
4) Undead fleeing at 20% health
Again, could find no evidence of undead fleeing in the Hole (or not fleeing). Really no mention of it. It is an oddity in Norrath that any undead would flee at low health, all I know of stand and fight to the death. Was this just a mistake during implementation to set all mobs to flee?
Assist Radius Adjustments:
It is pretty widely remembered from those that played on Live that the entrance mobs could be pulled solo at some point. I've found some posts with some details hoping that warrants some adjustments. Also mentions a larger assist radius for Master Yael that currently doesn't seem to work on P99.
1) About Entrance Mobs (probably all lower level elementals: warriors / deceiver / channeler / visier):
9/23/01: (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/EYla8_BPx00/wot6l0aAa80J;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
The are close together, and I know that can be single-pulled, but I
think that requires a high-level puller to do it every time.
At level 51, you can single pull the entry way stuff. They are
usually elemental warriors which are about level 38 to 41. Once you
get past the 6 elemental warriors up front, you have the potential for
running into an elemental crusader. These are about 3 levels higher
and cannot be single pulled at 51, can be if you're higher level.
1/17/02: (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/smWO84tWAUE/R0JY3xU5B90J;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
solo the front 6 entrance mobs to The Hole. pull with cancel magic and you
can get them singly.
(NOTE: OP said he was level 52)
> cancel magic gives the mob a very small pass-on-its-agro-to-another-mob
> radius. probably siphon str does to i havent tried it.
Actually, with the exception of some weird bugs in that zone, (see
below) the entry mobs have a pretty short aggro radius. When we start
our camp there, I pull the first one on the right with an arrow. Direct
melee style attack. And I never get the left side one. I started doing
that at level 52, so I don't think it's a level thing. But oddly, I've
had times when fighting one of the twins (the second pair in from entry)
up by the water that one of the ones from next to the STAIRS will
suddenly come running up and join in. Never figured that one out.
2) Master Yael assist radius
Guide mentions he will agro if you pull the 2 elementals by the waterfall, but not the fiend or golem in the room. I believe this is because he is slightly higher on the ledge than the fiend/golem? I must admit, on live when we first took out Yael our monks died soooo many times trying to get the room clear, they just kept eating DTs. It is definitely easy to clear the room on P99 before engage.
Evidence:
http://www.angelfire.com/freak/eqjonze/guides/oldworld/thehole/TheHoleGuide.htm
a rock golem that is stationed RIGHT inside the room on your right at "2". Grab him and pull him back to the group to be killed. Once you've gotten him out of the way grab the fiend that wanders when he's at the point closest to you. Take him back to group to be killed and then move them all down just shy of the entrance but tell them not to, no matter what, approach the room. The two elementals remaining WILL aggro Master Yael and he will Death Touch the person who gets aggroed.
You send them along the left wall and given them a few seconds head start in their run. Then start the group moving after them all the while keeping as far against the wall along the purple arrows as you can. If you move straight through the room you risk aggroing one of the elementals and getting Death Touch from Master Yael before your designated person has a chance to aggro him and take it.
Have one or two enchanters ready to deal with those two because, frankly, its likely just inevitable that through the course of the fight they will get aggroed by the brawl that ensues taking out Master Yael. Leave them mezzed and take care of the big boss and once he's dead you can deal with the two remaining minions.
Undead Ghost factions: Evil Spirits and Good Spirits
Currently on P99 all the ghosts will attack on site. There is plenty of evidence stating that there are some ghosts that are indifferent, but some that are KoS.
Evidence:
For starters, this map shows the specific mobs that are said to be indifferent. I don't know the exact source for this, but it is the best I have to work with in a zone that has since been revamped and lost to the abyss of history. I suspect there were other ghosts in the lower room that were indifferent, but people did not fight there mainly, just ran up to kindle. We may never know the truth, so up to you if you want to randomize them as the upper tower (seems it was based on the spawn point).
Note that there is a spawn circled in Kindle's room that, luckily, had spawned Initiate Sirilis at the time the map was drawn. We know the named ghost mobs can spawn randomly in place of any ghost, so this means even named ghosts can spawn as indifferent.
I am not able to determine if the Indifferent ghosts are social with each other or on some type of beta-neutral faction (your choice here).
Map showing 'indifferent' undead:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_h_archaneandorionbelgar.gif
Relevant locs of those mobs (non-agro ones):
970, 513, -570
932, 443, -575
952, 423, -575* (NOTE: I believe this should be Kindle's spawn, see below)
932, 607, -575
928, 502, -570
730, 514, -570
760, 572, -566
760, 474, -566
Additional evidence backing up those claims:
http://www.angelfire.com/freak/eqjonze/guides/oldworld/thehole/TheHoleGuide.htm
t's pretty much a straight shot through the lower level, then up several flights to the top. Not all mobs in the upper level of the tower are aggro. Therefore NO AoE spells will be used whatsoever. Aggroing mobs that are indifferent will only result in potential, unnecessary deaths. In Kindle's room, Kindle is not aggro and there is speculation that only one of the two Revenants in that room are aggro. We are only concerned with the aggro mobs at this point. We will not kill the non-aggro mobs for exp or fun. We are on a get in and get out mission here.
Once everyone is assembled in Kindle's room, we will clear the aggro Revenants out of that room. Once cleared, the puller will go into the room directly across from Kindle's room (not Kirn's room yet) and bring whatever mobs are aggro there back to Kindle's room. Next, the puller will bring any aggro mobs in Kirn's room, then lastly any mobs in the room behind Kirn's room. Once these aggro mobs are down, a tank and myself will head out to talk to Kirn.
https://web.archive.org/web/20021016095157/http://eqbeastiary.allakhazam.com:80/search.shtml?id=5280
(March of 2002, but pre-revamp)
We kill the one Revant behind kirn's room. Pulled the one revant in Kirn's room that was KoS to everybody. Kirn and his pet was up. We moved into Kirn's room and buffed up. There was a Revant in the corner but was Indifferently to all of us. Dunno why it was but it was.
Posted @ Fri, May 25th 8:52 AM 2001
Once you go all the way up, and as soon as you see Kirn, turn left and move your group into the room with the Ghost of Kindle. Kindle and one other revenant in there are NON-aggro, but the remaining revenant is KoS to all.
Note the above says there is Kindle + 1 revenant that is NON-aggro, but the remaining 1 is KoS. This matches what the map shows (not 4 spawns in this room... layout is same as opposite room). Also, on the below link to Kindle's page, you will see her standing in FRONT of the steps, not on top. That is how the spawn at 952, 423, -575 is setup. So I believe Kindle should be changed to this position, and her current position be removed of any mobs (total of 3 mobs in the room, which includes Kindle).
Note that the below mentions '4 or 5 mobs' in the room, but he is clearly admitting he doesn't quite remember the count, but confirms existence of non-aggro undead.
https://web.archive.org/web/20020525101655/http://eqbeastiary.allakhazam.com:80/search.shtml?id=5230
Posted @ Tue, Sep 25th 1:01 AM 2001
Ghost of Kindle isn't all that tough ... can be done by a single group of say, 53+ ... the difficulty is in getting to her. There are 4 or 5 mobs in the room, only 2 of which will aggro w/out being provoced ... once you reach the undead secter of the Hole use IVU to get up to her room. Take off invis and battle the the 2 aggro mobs of which the ghost is not included ... then kill Kindle ... i believe of other mob or two that were not aggro will attack once you attack Kindle. Can't quite remember.
The above is the only mention of an indifferent ghost assisting, but it is suspect as he said 'can't quite remember', and others did not report this. Could have been attacked by a group member, etc... just don't know.
GM Event for opening of the Hole
Edit: Forgot to add this for refresh server... not sure what was done on P99 but here is one of the only mentions I found of the GM event they held for the Hole opening up. Basically mobs in Toxx and Paineel killing NPCs and Players alike.
I have some screenshots somewhere floating around of it, will need to post those later:
https://web.archive.org/web/20011027103543/http://eqvault.ign.com:80/archive/arc81.shtml
Gordon Responds to GM Event Incident
Gordon responded to a complaint on the Gameplay Board concerning an incident at a recent GM event. Here's the thread:
I'm usually a rational person, but right now, I'm pissed something fierce. I'm playing my level 5 Erudite Necro when things get nasty.
All happy of my new level, I finally venture out in Tox Forest just in time to witness a GM event (probably to open up The Hole). Once this is over, it seems like a whole pile of Earth Elementals are out in force in the zone and I quickly die by getting jumped by 3 of them. This doesn't really bother me, I'll quickly run to the Paineel bank to pick up my bone chips. I head to the elevator and as it happens to be up. On my way down, I'm rooted by..... AN EARTH ELEMENTAL.
This is where I start to get pissed. Once the elevetor hits the bottom, I'm quickly wiped out by what must've been 10 EEs IN THE CITY. The good thing though was that the guards were killing them (albeit VERY slowly). I wait near the elevator until all the fighting stops. Now I'm ready to get a new key so I can get into the city.
This is where I get even more pissed. I run towards the newbie zone (still in Paineel -- If you've started a char in this city, you know where I mean). On my way there, guess what happens. I get rooted AGAIN by another dozen or so EEs in the newbie area. Needless to say, I've now a 3rd corpse lying around.
Can't get into the city, can't get into the newbie area and I'm still missing all my stuff. I venture back into Tox to try to figure out what I'm going to do. Luckly, a high level character comes around to help me get my corpse back. Still however, we weren't successful for a while. I kept getting rooted by EEs and summary pounded to death. I don't blame the player trying to help me cause how is he/she supposed to keep a level 5 alive against multiple EEs that take him/her at least 3 spells to kill.
Anyway, I didn't lose any XP cause I was only level 5, but I think I died 7 times while trying to get my stuff back. I /petitioned so that I could rant but camped before anybody responded. Right now, I'm seriously upset and at the moment REALLY HATE this #@$%@#$% game. Correction, not the game, but the people who organize this crap. I mean, at least when they did this with Kithicor, you could still walk around Rivervale without getting you ass handed to you every 2 steps.
I am sorry that you had a bad experience.
Our intention is to provide excitement for the players involved. Changes to predictable behavior or circumstances is often a good way to do this. Things are supposed to happen in EverQuest, things that cannot be foreseen, and things that are a departure from the norm, both lead to an interesting world.
I understand that some people are upset when we do things of this nature. We just hope that the majority of those involved have a good time.
-Gordon
Conclusion:
I'm obsessed with this zone and love it so much. Sorry for all the work it requires, but it is near complete and won't require much more fixing after this is implemented. I thank you for all your hard work and dedication!
Firstly, here are some open bug reports I've made or contributed to, of which I feel there is good enough evidence to warrant the requested change:
Keeper of the Tombs spawn location adjustment (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281615)
Teleport Area bug (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274802)
Faction Con Messages (Elementals, Fiends, Rock Golems) (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296988)
Missing Item: Blood Flecked Obsidian Shard (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296710)
Missing Item: Copper Medal of War (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281243)
Missing NPC: Retseth Tretse (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258957)
This next report has some good evidence, but not 100% sure if it was only for a short time and changed. I list some reasonings for it in the thread:
Fusible Earthen Ore as a ground spawn (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281241)
This final report can be moved to resolved, I made it when I was a P99 noob and thought it would 'make sense', but have seen reports of Dartain agroing through the wall in Classic due to the boulder not being a good door:
Dartain the Lost - agro through the door (https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229889)
So onward to some more changes!
All About Doors:
1) Tower Door
The very first door you encounter by the tower should be unopenable, even with maximum lockpicking. It is currently pickable on P99. There are some inconsitent reports of sit agro occurring through the locked door to pull mobs, do what you will with that...
Relevant Loc: 440, -630, -80
Evidence:
6/23/00 (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/I1DKVWfkre4/mk7sL5WKUmQJ;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
First rock golem we saw (still close to zone)was lvl 53 - hit pretty hard (140's) and damn fast, also had quite a few hp.
We cleared quickly to the open area and decided to go up the ramp to the tower. I was 'volunteered' to check the door :p - I did and it was locked.
Our 200+ skill rogue couldn't pick it so we were about to abandon the idea and try the ramp down to the floor when a golem comes straight through the locked door and starts beating on me, followed by about 6 of his friends
https://web.archive.org/web/20020425125820/http://everquest.allakhazam.com:80/db/zones.html?zstrat=99
Posted @ Sun, May 13th 1:44 AM 2001
Please tell me there is someone who knows the answer to this question.... Where do you get a key to the front door of the castle tower???
Have tried lockpick with a capped rogue...bought the key from paineel, it only works for the zone in door. Please help. ...a very frustrated rogue
9/23/01: (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/EYla8_BPx00/wot6l0aAa80J;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
Also,
you can get at least 1-2 mobs (usually golems) from the tower if you sit
by the locked door. Maybe more depending on the level of who sits down.
4/15/02 (pre-revamp): (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/blnFdTmFc5s/sPkOsxMmF2QJ;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
We decide to pull the three mobs in the tower with the locked/unpickable door. You can't hit them with arrows. They were too far away from the door to aggro by sitting next to it.
This map was from the Steve Prutz archive and mentions unpickable:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_castle_top_cattie.jpg
2) Grate in Castle
There is a grate in the castle that guards an underwater tunnel to a series of rooms. On P99 it is set to always be open (meaning, the grate itself is stuck in the 'open' position, it should be closed blocking access to the tunnel), it should be locked (but pickable). I have not found the exact mention of what skill is required to pick it (apologize for that).
Relative Loc: 497, -182, -194
Evidence:
https://web.archive.org/web/20020228140728/http://everquest.allakhazam.com:80/db/zones.html?start=25&zstrat=99
Posted @ Fri, Aug 25th 4:14 AM 2000
Now, I'll finish up by asking a question.. in the very first castle, if you go into it rather than on deeper, you'll find a locked grate in a water-filled room. Having a rogue pick the grate, you can proceed through the water into an isolated area with 4 rooms and nothing more
http://web.archive.org/web/20020331185633/http://eqbeastiary.allakhazam.com:80/search.shtml?start=75&zone=99
Posted @ Wed, Jul 5th 2:41 PM 2000
I wasn't able to get all the way in because i kept getting jumped by rats and also dont have the lockpick skill. (found a locked grate at the end of a hall under some water) *grins*
This site (http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/hole.htm) hosts a whole plethora of maps from the Hole, there are mentions of the grate being locked in these:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_zealott.jpg
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_castle_cattie.jpg
3) Doors to Teleporter / Shissar Calendar
I have to say that I do recall the teleporter door being locked on live, I remember seeing it on a map and going down with my warrior and having our group there, but could not open it. I wanted to try and get sit agro to get a golem in there to attack me, damage it, and have it summon me in, but I couldn't get them to agro. I don't remember if we had a rogue with us or paineel keys to test.
Nevertheless, I only have this map piece as evidence:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_e_city_archaneandorion.gif
It mentions the door is locked by the teleporter, and it also shows a door to the shissar calendar room that is locked. There is currently no door on P99 to the Shissar Calendar, and the teleporter door is unlocked (sucks as I use this door a lot).
Admittedly this is some weaker evidence as it is only my memory and a map mention, but it is very hard to find information about this room, I don't think a lot of people knew about it. I gather the teleporter room is at least pickable or open with perhaps paineel key as people knew there were teleporters. Do with this what you will...
Relative Locs:
Teleporter Door = 28, 346, -384
Shissar Calenar Door = 35, 290, -384
Various Mob Details:
1) A Fallen Erudite (and other various ghost changes)
These should be sitting skeletons with no name shown overhead (classic for old world skeleton model). I do have a memory of these jumping up at me during a crawl on live and freaking out, but have some evidence to back that up. I also question if their faction is correct.
Relevant Locs:
810, 445, -655
792, 591, -669
766, 535, -680
766, 494, -680
803, 515, -680
785, 465, -680*
*Note that this last loc needs its position tweaked slightly I believe. It is currently on top of the broken lid of the casket instead of inside the casket as the map indicates.
Both these maps from the archive mention they are sitting skeletons:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_g_archaneandorionbelgar.gif
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_g_mid_archaneandorion.gif
A bit of weaker evidence but in my thread about the Keeper of the Tombs spawn point adjustment there is a picture of him at rest (notice he is not 'rooted' as he is not looking directly at the person taking a screenshot). The spawn point of the skeleton is in the background, if he was standing you would see him.
I believe this is why "Ghost of Glohnor" is sitting by default when he spawns, because his placeholders are sitting.
One final mention about these creatures is their faction. They are currently on MinionsofUnderfoot faction, which means they are social with rock golems / fiends / elementals. I know some sites had listed that, but I have seen them also list ghosts on MinionsofUnderfoot which we know is not correct. I question if this was an error on the page. I don't have access to old logs from EQMac or wherever, but hopefully you guys do and can check some of those faction hits? Entirely possible it was classic, but I've come up dry on finding any kind of hard info on it.
A few last mentions about the upper graveyards here... according to the maps there is a missing ghost spawn in the east graveyard, approximate loc: 800, 487, -655
I also believe there should be an additional 'a fallen erudite' in place of a ghost. You currently in the West Graveyard have a ghost at approximate loc 787, 610, -670. If you look at the map, the coloring and call out actually mention this mob to be a fallen erudite, there is another position in that same yard as Ghost of Glohnor (who spawns in place of fallen erudites). So that is why I believe it should be changed.
I suggest moving this spawn slightly to 787, 617, -670 (besides the casket, not on top) as this is more in line with these mobs being 'hidden' and jump up at you by surprise.
Also just inside the tower, in that open room, it appears as if you are missing a mob spawn (ghost). Relevant loc is 863, 525, -661 (right in front of the chair, suggest facing South to stay with the mood of the room). This room is pretty brutal to pull even before the sneak nerf, so adding more mobs makes it even tougher, but it appears to be legit.
2) A Missing Rock Golem
In Master Yael's chamber there is a missing rock golem
Suggested Loc: 615, 458, -907 (Facing East)
Evidence:
This guide is what was used to place mob locations on P99 (I believe) and was definitely done pre-revamp to the zone. Others have listed various iterations of it in alla comments in era, so I have high confidence in it being classic:
http://www.angelfire.com/freak/eqjonze/guides/oldworld/thehole/TheHoleGuide.htm
https://web.archive.org/save/_embed/http://hiddenmentors.tripod.com:80/hole_guide.htm
The writer mentions there is a missing mob (a rock golem) in Master Yael's chamber, just to the right of the boulder as you enter:
There's some oddity about the room that you need to know before charging in and taking him out. The first thing is that there is one mob missing from the map above, a rock golem that is stationed RIGHT inside the room on your right at "2". Grab him and pull him back to the group to be killed.
He also mentions he doesn't recommend going down the waterfall from docks as there is the golem:
Last thing you want is someone not swimming properly, falling, and dying from that or your best tank being the first down, or a cleric, and then getting death touched. You also then have to contend with four mobs plus Master Yael because you can't pull the golem and fiend prior to your assault.
Side note: I'll need to look into this more, but I do seem to remember that pool didn't stop fall damage from docks. You had to 'swim down' the waterfall to survive, which was harder than it sounds. Perhaps some physics stuff where shallow pools slowed descent instead of stopping? Would need to look into that more.
3) Dartain the Lost: Flagged as Undead?
I couldn't find any mention of this, but on P99 he is flagged as undead despite having a live body model. I only saw on Magelo he was listed as body type: undead / unknown. I couldn't locate any player comments of him being undead such as undead only spells landing on him.
Is there any solid evidence to keep him flagged as undead?
4) Undead fleeing at 20% health
Again, could find no evidence of undead fleeing in the Hole (or not fleeing). Really no mention of it. It is an oddity in Norrath that any undead would flee at low health, all I know of stand and fight to the death. Was this just a mistake during implementation to set all mobs to flee?
Assist Radius Adjustments:
It is pretty widely remembered from those that played on Live that the entrance mobs could be pulled solo at some point. I've found some posts with some details hoping that warrants some adjustments. Also mentions a larger assist radius for Master Yael that currently doesn't seem to work on P99.
1) About Entrance Mobs (probably all lower level elementals: warriors / deceiver / channeler / visier):
9/23/01: (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/EYla8_BPx00/wot6l0aAa80J;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
The are close together, and I know that can be single-pulled, but I
think that requires a high-level puller to do it every time.
At level 51, you can single pull the entry way stuff. They are
usually elemental warriors which are about level 38 to 41. Once you
get past the 6 elemental warriors up front, you have the potential for
running into an elemental crusader. These are about 3 levels higher
and cannot be single pulled at 51, can be if you're higher level.
1/17/02: (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.games.everquest/smWO84tWAUE/R0JY3xU5B90J;context-place=forum/alt.games.everquest)
solo the front 6 entrance mobs to The Hole. pull with cancel magic and you
can get them singly.
(NOTE: OP said he was level 52)
> cancel magic gives the mob a very small pass-on-its-agro-to-another-mob
> radius. probably siphon str does to i havent tried it.
Actually, with the exception of some weird bugs in that zone, (see
below) the entry mobs have a pretty short aggro radius. When we start
our camp there, I pull the first one on the right with an arrow. Direct
melee style attack. And I never get the left side one. I started doing
that at level 52, so I don't think it's a level thing. But oddly, I've
had times when fighting one of the twins (the second pair in from entry)
up by the water that one of the ones from next to the STAIRS will
suddenly come running up and join in. Never figured that one out.
2) Master Yael assist radius
Guide mentions he will agro if you pull the 2 elementals by the waterfall, but not the fiend or golem in the room. I believe this is because he is slightly higher on the ledge than the fiend/golem? I must admit, on live when we first took out Yael our monks died soooo many times trying to get the room clear, they just kept eating DTs. It is definitely easy to clear the room on P99 before engage.
Evidence:
http://www.angelfire.com/freak/eqjonze/guides/oldworld/thehole/TheHoleGuide.htm
a rock golem that is stationed RIGHT inside the room on your right at "2". Grab him and pull him back to the group to be killed. Once you've gotten him out of the way grab the fiend that wanders when he's at the point closest to you. Take him back to group to be killed and then move them all down just shy of the entrance but tell them not to, no matter what, approach the room. The two elementals remaining WILL aggro Master Yael and he will Death Touch the person who gets aggroed.
You send them along the left wall and given them a few seconds head start in their run. Then start the group moving after them all the while keeping as far against the wall along the purple arrows as you can. If you move straight through the room you risk aggroing one of the elementals and getting Death Touch from Master Yael before your designated person has a chance to aggro him and take it.
Have one or two enchanters ready to deal with those two because, frankly, its likely just inevitable that through the course of the fight they will get aggroed by the brawl that ensues taking out Master Yael. Leave them mezzed and take care of the big boss and once he's dead you can deal with the two remaining minions.
Undead Ghost factions: Evil Spirits and Good Spirits
Currently on P99 all the ghosts will attack on site. There is plenty of evidence stating that there are some ghosts that are indifferent, but some that are KoS.
Evidence:
For starters, this map shows the specific mobs that are said to be indifferent. I don't know the exact source for this, but it is the best I have to work with in a zone that has since been revamped and lost to the abyss of history. I suspect there were other ghosts in the lower room that were indifferent, but people did not fight there mainly, just ran up to kindle. We may never know the truth, so up to you if you want to randomize them as the upper tower (seems it was based on the spawn point).
Note that there is a spawn circled in Kindle's room that, luckily, had spawned Initiate Sirilis at the time the map was drawn. We know the named ghost mobs can spawn randomly in place of any ghost, so this means even named ghosts can spawn as indifferent.
I am not able to determine if the Indifferent ghosts are social with each other or on some type of beta-neutral faction (your choice here).
Map showing 'indifferent' undead:
http://www.steveprutz.com/eq/images/hole_h_archaneandorionbelgar.gif
Relevant locs of those mobs (non-agro ones):
970, 513, -570
932, 443, -575
952, 423, -575* (NOTE: I believe this should be Kindle's spawn, see below)
932, 607, -575
928, 502, -570
730, 514, -570
760, 572, -566
760, 474, -566
Additional evidence backing up those claims:
http://www.angelfire.com/freak/eqjonze/guides/oldworld/thehole/TheHoleGuide.htm
t's pretty much a straight shot through the lower level, then up several flights to the top. Not all mobs in the upper level of the tower are aggro. Therefore NO AoE spells will be used whatsoever. Aggroing mobs that are indifferent will only result in potential, unnecessary deaths. In Kindle's room, Kindle is not aggro and there is speculation that only one of the two Revenants in that room are aggro. We are only concerned with the aggro mobs at this point. We will not kill the non-aggro mobs for exp or fun. We are on a get in and get out mission here.
Once everyone is assembled in Kindle's room, we will clear the aggro Revenants out of that room. Once cleared, the puller will go into the room directly across from Kindle's room (not Kirn's room yet) and bring whatever mobs are aggro there back to Kindle's room. Next, the puller will bring any aggro mobs in Kirn's room, then lastly any mobs in the room behind Kirn's room. Once these aggro mobs are down, a tank and myself will head out to talk to Kirn.
https://web.archive.org/web/20021016095157/http://eqbeastiary.allakhazam.com:80/search.shtml?id=5280
(March of 2002, but pre-revamp)
We kill the one Revant behind kirn's room. Pulled the one revant in Kirn's room that was KoS to everybody. Kirn and his pet was up. We moved into Kirn's room and buffed up. There was a Revant in the corner but was Indifferently to all of us. Dunno why it was but it was.
Posted @ Fri, May 25th 8:52 AM 2001
Once you go all the way up, and as soon as you see Kirn, turn left and move your group into the room with the Ghost of Kindle. Kindle and one other revenant in there are NON-aggro, but the remaining revenant is KoS to all.
Note the above says there is Kindle + 1 revenant that is NON-aggro, but the remaining 1 is KoS. This matches what the map shows (not 4 spawns in this room... layout is same as opposite room). Also, on the below link to Kindle's page, you will see her standing in FRONT of the steps, not on top. That is how the spawn at 952, 423, -575 is setup. So I believe Kindle should be changed to this position, and her current position be removed of any mobs (total of 3 mobs in the room, which includes Kindle).
Note that the below mentions '4 or 5 mobs' in the room, but he is clearly admitting he doesn't quite remember the count, but confirms existence of non-aggro undead.
https://web.archive.org/web/20020525101655/http://eqbeastiary.allakhazam.com:80/search.shtml?id=5230
Posted @ Tue, Sep 25th 1:01 AM 2001
Ghost of Kindle isn't all that tough ... can be done by a single group of say, 53+ ... the difficulty is in getting to her. There are 4 or 5 mobs in the room, only 2 of which will aggro w/out being provoced ... once you reach the undead secter of the Hole use IVU to get up to her room. Take off invis and battle the the 2 aggro mobs of which the ghost is not included ... then kill Kindle ... i believe of other mob or two that were not aggro will attack once you attack Kindle. Can't quite remember.
The above is the only mention of an indifferent ghost assisting, but it is suspect as he said 'can't quite remember', and others did not report this. Could have been attacked by a group member, etc... just don't know.
GM Event for opening of the Hole
Edit: Forgot to add this for refresh server... not sure what was done on P99 but here is one of the only mentions I found of the GM event they held for the Hole opening up. Basically mobs in Toxx and Paineel killing NPCs and Players alike.
I have some screenshots somewhere floating around of it, will need to post those later:
https://web.archive.org/web/20011027103543/http://eqvault.ign.com:80/archive/arc81.shtml
Gordon Responds to GM Event Incident
Gordon responded to a complaint on the Gameplay Board concerning an incident at a recent GM event. Here's the thread:
I'm usually a rational person, but right now, I'm pissed something fierce. I'm playing my level 5 Erudite Necro when things get nasty.
All happy of my new level, I finally venture out in Tox Forest just in time to witness a GM event (probably to open up The Hole). Once this is over, it seems like a whole pile of Earth Elementals are out in force in the zone and I quickly die by getting jumped by 3 of them. This doesn't really bother me, I'll quickly run to the Paineel bank to pick up my bone chips. I head to the elevator and as it happens to be up. On my way down, I'm rooted by..... AN EARTH ELEMENTAL.
This is where I start to get pissed. Once the elevetor hits the bottom, I'm quickly wiped out by what must've been 10 EEs IN THE CITY. The good thing though was that the guards were killing them (albeit VERY slowly). I wait near the elevator until all the fighting stops. Now I'm ready to get a new key so I can get into the city.
This is where I get even more pissed. I run towards the newbie zone (still in Paineel -- If you've started a char in this city, you know where I mean). On my way there, guess what happens. I get rooted AGAIN by another dozen or so EEs in the newbie area. Needless to say, I've now a 3rd corpse lying around.
Can't get into the city, can't get into the newbie area and I'm still missing all my stuff. I venture back into Tox to try to figure out what I'm going to do. Luckly, a high level character comes around to help me get my corpse back. Still however, we weren't successful for a while. I kept getting rooted by EEs and summary pounded to death. I don't blame the player trying to help me cause how is he/she supposed to keep a level 5 alive against multiple EEs that take him/her at least 3 spells to kill.
Anyway, I didn't lose any XP cause I was only level 5, but I think I died 7 times while trying to get my stuff back. I /petitioned so that I could rant but camped before anybody responded. Right now, I'm seriously upset and at the moment REALLY HATE this #@$%@#$% game. Correction, not the game, but the people who organize this crap. I mean, at least when they did this with Kithicor, you could still walk around Rivervale without getting you ass handed to you every 2 steps.
I am sorry that you had a bad experience.
Our intention is to provide excitement for the players involved. Changes to predictable behavior or circumstances is often a good way to do this. Things are supposed to happen in EverQuest, things that cannot be foreseen, and things that are a departure from the norm, both lead to an interesting world.
I understand that some people are upset when we do things of this nature. We just hope that the majority of those involved have a good time.
-Gordon
Conclusion:
I'm obsessed with this zone and love it so much. Sorry for all the work it requires, but it is near complete and won't require much more fixing after this is implemented. I thank you for all your hard work and dedication!