eq:Vex Thal
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Intro
This information was obtained from a message posted by redemptionvv and can be found here.
I have edited this info into a easy to read guide.
The maps where found via google and the original creator is Roefod Koefod
Maps
- Original Location Map 1
- Original Location Map 2
- Original Location Map 3
Keys
There are three sets of keys for inner Vex Thal, which rogues and pullers will need. Generally it's a smart idea to key rogues before pullers. All 3 keys are keyringable.
- Here's a note, the first key drops off the courtyard mob, it gets you into palace. YOU WILL NOT go any further without a Lockpick with you the whole way, as some doors require to be picked (see maps)
Key 1 - Palace Key
- Item Palace Key
- Mob Va Dyn Khar
Key 2 - North Wing Key
- Item North Wing Key
- Mob Va Xakra
- The nameds in both mirror image sides that drop the keys are in the center rooms of the North and south wing circles, furthest north and furthest south. they are the inside rooms in the center furthest back that face the main entryway, Key mobs are in the room with them. (Go easy in the circle wings, this is were we trap wiped!)
Key 3 - North Tower Key
- Item North Tower Key
- Mob Va Xakra
- As you walk into the door to fight the mobs on the second floor the key room is directly north, east west rooms on second floor had nothing but add trash, waste of time.
The Zone
- CotH and Summon Corpse work everywhere in this zone, Mages need to be careful of the warders after blob one however. If you dont waste the bosses they will kill you. You can coth to blob 1 no problem with a set up cothbot , don't bother with invis they start seeing it as soon as you get into the palace itself.
Mobs
Intro
Each trash mob in Vex Thal have three attributes which affect how the raid handles them.
- The first word of its name
- The last word of its name
- It's appearance
First Word of Name Eom > Pli > Zun > Zov > Qua in order of difficulty.
Enchanters Mobs whos name start with Qua and Zov are mezzable by enchanters. These are the only two types of mobs in the entire zone that can be mezzed. Zov's are slightly harder than Qua's but both these mob types are the two least difficult in the zone.
MT & Tank Mezzers There are 3 remaining types of mobs that are not mezzable. In order from hardest to easiest they are: Eom > Pli > Zun. Main tank generally tries to pick off the Eoms then the Plis then the Zuns.
- misc note: Eoms have very rare random chance to drop VT bane weapons and items from the Thall Va Xakra loot table.
Last Word of Name
The last word of the mob's name (Centien, Xakra etc) defines its class. It's not important to have the whole list memorized but it is very important to recognize two types: ___ Thall and ____ Zethon. Thalls are cleric mobs and Zethons are wizard mobs. This is significant because they Gate. Gaters in VT are the most common cause of wipes. Lower mobs like Zov Zethon can be chain mezzed at low, or stunned. However Eom Thall/Zethon can only be hit with pally AA stun and burned down hard with nukes when it gets into gate mode. It is suggested that one person make a macro like < %T > will GATE and use it each time the situation calls for it.
Appearance
Trash mobs in VT have three different looks: shade golems, fancy robes (like Shei) and plain robes (like Rygan Anisher in AR).
Fancy robes that look like Shei pop a plain robe on their death on the exact spot they died. The resulting plain robe is always equal to or lower on the mob difficulty list. The thing to note is that caster versions of the spawned plain robes do not Gate as their "bind" point is the place you killed their parent fancy robe.
Tank order priority (highest to lowest)
- non-mezzable plain robes or Golems (Eom > Pli > Zun)
- non-mezzable fancy robes (Eom > Pli > Zun)
- plain robes that pop out of non-mezzable fancy robes, regardless of whether the pop is mezzable
- mezzable plain robes or Golems (Zov > Qua)
- mezzable fancy robes (Zov > Qua)
The average pull in VT is 3-8 mobs at a time in camp, and that is the only way you can really move fast enough to keep up with repops. So not only the main tanks , but all the off-tanks should learn or sticky-note what's mezzable and what's not and learn to be quick about picking out the mobs they have to TM when a big pull comes in.
The Akhevan Warders
See also Mob:Akhevan Warder
Most bosses in Vex Thal have several assosciated Akhevan Warders. They are generally between that boss and the next boss behind it, as well as a copy of each in Aten room itself. These are non-targetable mobs that will warp you to outside Blob 1's room if they agro (insta-death). Each time you kill a boss its Warders will depop. So basically you can't skip killing any of the warder depopping bosses by CoH'ing past.
There are 6 sets of warders in Vex Thal
- - Blob 1 at west end of entry hall (kaas thox etc)
- - Diabo Xi Xin and Diabo Xi Va share the same set of warders. Only 1 of these two bosses is killed as they are on opposite sides of the zone and lead to the same place. (first floor is shaped like a donut). It doesn't matter which, and is pretty much a raid-leader decision which of the two to go after.
- - Diabo Xi Xin Thall is the last mob on the first floor and depops warders
- - Thall Va Kelun at entry to 2nd floor
- - Diabo Xi Va Terminiel and Thunderos Xi Diabo share a same set of warders on the 2nd floor. Same deal as the DXX/DXV situation on the first floor, basically Leader will pick which one of the two to go for on each clearing.
- - VXAHR (aka mini-Aten) is the final warder depopper.
- Va Dyn Khar at zone in courtyard, the two Thall Va Xakras, and the two Aten Blobs are unrelated to the warder system.
The Bosses
*Va Dyn Khar - roams in zone-in courtyard, 6 hour spawn - slowable, total gimp, drops no loot other than Palace Key
*Thall Va Xakra x2 - there are two of these bosses, in the passsages going north and south from the main entry hall. - they are pulled to the first open room you come across, where you can go either left or right to pull them (doesn't matter) - they AE silence with a tiny range. It's extremely easy for casters to avoid - slowable, hit gimpy, lots of HP, don't ramp/flurry - drops 4 loots each time - the two named "Va Xakra" guards in their rooms are the ones who drop the North Wing Key which opens the door on the west side of entry?. They need to be pulled too for obvious reasons - These two are on a different spawn time than most nameds they are 3-5 day as opposed to 6-7 day for rest.
*Kaas Thox Xi Ans Dyek(also known as blob 1) - located thru west door of entry hall in room to west - this mob is perma-rooted (the only perma-rooted mob in the zone, btw) - hits around 650, flurries, unslowable, enrages - AE gfluxes. It's very important that the tank faces the mob either north or south and that all melees are on the opposite side. If any melees are on the east side of the mob the gflux can fling them into the door and bring 8 adds. - you hug the edges of his room without agro'ing him to set up, there's little alcoves there to get ready in. - drops 2 loots each time - Setting up perma-CoH in his room is highly recommended to skip 1 hour plow.
*Diabo Xi Va - this depops the same warder as DXX. If you go North from Kaas room you will go in his direction. - he's up the stairs in the big lava room after a plow - raid preps outside the door on top of stairs - unslowable, no AE, no rampage, hits around 900 I think - tank charges in room and fights him at the front of his room, melees surround to avoid push. - important not to push him anywhere near the two side doors, or you will get an add. - once dead, the "Va Xakra" guards in the room behind his drop the North Tower key - drops 3 loots each time --POSSIBLE ANCIENT SPELL NOT CONFIRMED, we had no ancient drop.
*Diabo Xi Xin - depops same warder as DXV, if you go South from Kaas room you will go in his direciton - up stairs in big lava room after a plow - raid preps outside door, rampage tank charges in first to establish ramp. He is fought at front of his room near where you enter. - Rampages, slowable, no AE - important not to push him anywhere near the two side doors, or you will get an add. - once dead, the "Va Xakra" guards in the northern room behind his drop the North Tower key - drops 3 loots --POSSIBLE ANCIENT SPELL NOT CONFIRMED, we had no ancient drop.
*Diabo Xi Xin Thal - This is the final 1st floor boss, he is at the far end of the donut-shaped first floor and you can get to him from both DXX or DXV sides, there is no difference in plow. - He's up stairs in the lava room, can prep outside door - Rampages, AE silence (small range), forgot if slowable, hits about 1k - Rampage tanks pulls him to left side of room right by door, casters rush into room on the opposite side (right) to avoid silence. - Again, dont push him anywhere near the two side doors or will get adds. - Behind him is the portal up to 2nd floor. You can prep in the portal room after he dies, but on port up there are 2 mobs that will agro immediately. - drops 3 loots --POSSIBLE ANCIENT SPELL NOT CONFIRMED, we had no ancient drop.
*Thall Va Kelun - At far end of big hall on 2nd floor entry. - He is pulled to the port-in room which is the only place you're not at risk of tons of repops during fight. - Unslowable, rampages, hits 1k roughly, procs a poison-based slow on the main tank which needs curing. - Tank usually walks him along the back wall away from door - Drops 3 loots --POSSIBLE ANCIENT SPELL NOT CONFIRMED, we had no ancient drop. - After he dies you can either go left in big hallway towards DXVT or right towards TXD.
*Diabi Xi Va Terminiel - left from TVK hallway after the longest and hardest plow in the zone (HE AINT LYIN) - after his hallway is pulled tank charges and fights him near his pop, melees surround - everyone has to be careful not to click the port in behind him - he is a wizard mob and casts spells which lowers his DPS. - has a 1500 AE which is magic based and extremely easy to resist. It's pretty much a non-issue - does not rampage or flurry, but forgot if slowable. He is not hard - drops 3 loots --POSSIBLE ANCIENT SPELL NOT CONFIRMED, we had no ancient drop.
*Thundrous Xi Diabo - right from TVK hallway after the longest and hardest plow in the zone (HE AINT LYIN) - after his hallway is pulled tank charges and fights him near his pop, melees surround - everyone has to be careful not to click the port in behind him - this guy is straight up melee, non-slowable, no special abilities or AE's - drops 3 loots --POSSIBLE ANCIENT SPELL NOT CONFIRMED, we had no ancient drop.
*Va Xi Aten Ha Ra (also known as Mini Aten) - After TXD or DXVT have been killed the raid preps and clicks up to the third floor. On port in there are 4 mobs that will insta-agro. Once those have been killed the port-in room is safe to prep for mini-Aten. - AE-gflux and rampages, slowable- rampage tank pulls her to either side of room to establish ramp, then we kill her - drops 3 loots + 1 ancient every time - CONFIRMED, our first ancient dropped here! - the portal behind her is a trap. If you click it you will get warped to zone-in. After she dies raid moves through the fake wall behind portal. - It's important that people stay clear of the clicky portal during the fight. It's possible to get gfluxed into it without even clicking.
*Kaas Thox Xi Aten Ha Ra - these are in the two side rooms in the big hallway after Mini-Aten. - they proc a 1000-1500 DD on tank and ae gflux. These are both slowable (magic) - their damage output is insane prior to the slow. Quad 1650 + the proc. - Suggested strat: bards and beastlords help try to get a little slow in when raid charges in until shamans can get their big one to stick. These mobs both need to be slowed damn fast and kept slow the entire time. - There is a special pin spot in the far side of room that is hard to explain but will allow rogues to backstab while keeping the mob in one place. Any where else in the room kind of sucks because the blob tends to get stuck in the light fixtures. - these each drop 3 items + one ancient spell- CONFIRMED
*Aten Ha Ra - port up is at the far end of the big hallway where the blobs are, and for once this port in is safe. The port-in room is the prep room. - Rampages, AE silences (small range), same 1500 magic base DD that DXVT has (easy to resist), AE gfluxes, slowable - Basically ramp tank agros her as raid charges in and gets ramp. Rampage is not a big deal on her, its not frequent. - Raid surrounds and kills, none of the AE's are really frequent enough to worry about but casters need to keep away from her to avoid the Silence one. - drops Soul Essence for neck each time + 1 loot from her melee loot table + 1 loot from caster table + 1 loot from priest table + 1 ancient spell every time- CONFIRMED.
Misc Info
- ALL trash in VT is slowable, Eom and Pli melee mobs need to be slowed fast or TM's will start dying.
- Rogues do NOT pop any triggered mobs ahead of the raid. You do this even if you are SoS'd and run near their spawn. If monks pull the non-trap mobs from a distance the traps won't agro. On some pulls this can cut the size of the pulls in half.
THIS IS CONFIRMED and very important, trap mobs can wipe, over powered by 20 mobs happens real easy when these traps get set, Locs of traps are unknown? but one of ours was in the north wing Key area before blob one! walk carefully.
Other info and advise
- First off, there is a lot of information in this post. Don't get intimidated by it. After the first 5 or so clearings you will know this stuff inside out. Dont worry about trying to remember what all the bosses do, how the warders work, or where to get the keys from. Just focus on remembering and/or writing down the mez/tank orders for trash. This zone is about plows, the bosses are all quite easy.
- Vex Thal is a matter of teamwork over gear and numbers. I'm not saying this to sound like one of those annoying motivational posters they have in offices with crap like "Innovation" written on them and a picture of a bird =/ Really mean it, any size raid as little as 3 groups regardless of gear can clear the entire zone if they work together and pay attention.
- The first time will be a blast, but subsequent plows will basically suck like you've never known EQ to suck before. Please keep in mind it's not just sucking for you, but for everyone else there too. Whining and complaining about the plows, being in a grumpy mood because of them and stuff like that just makes them feel longer. Seriously, just try your best to deal with them, play hard, and enjoy the company of your guildmates. It's is the only way to do this zone.
- Vex Thal plows also re-define how a guild can raid. You must autofollow someone in your group if you have to go AFK for any period of time, even if its just a 1 minute bio break. The raid is going to be constantly moving to avoid getting repopped on. There's also new requirements in attention span. You'll be plowing hundreds of mobs with stupid amounts of hitpoints, half of which pop more mobs that also have stupid amounts of hitpoints on death. People need to be very careful to stay awake and not go into zombie mode. After 200 mobs of boring plowing, 1 single mob that gates because people aren't on the ball can wipe the raid and ruin a whole night's effort.
- Recovering from wipes in VT is very hit and miss. CR teams need to be quick, consents need to be quick and you can't go ninja AFK after wipe. To avoid a coffin summon situation after a wipe, everyone needs to be alert, or an entire night's effort can be wasted.
Final Note
I hope this saves all of you the trouble I had to go through to get these damned ancient spells, I had to pull teeth to get a raid together, primarily because if it isnt aungish or time or crystolos, no one cares. Most of the people that came were high levels that were never there before and wanted to see it for themselves, so i consider myself lucky.
Nowadays to avoid a long, dreadful, but extremely fun night (at least for me I love rediscovering old eq) I would suggest a couple of godlike tanks, a 3 healer setup, shammy, fill the rest in yourself for a good 3 full group to even think about passing an evening away in this place, and trust me. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE! you will be here for an evening.
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