Hexen II Walkthrough/FAQ by Lord Zero (dskzero@yahoo.com) ************************************************************************* -Index: 1.- File History. 2.- Intro. 3.- About this guide. 4.- History. 5.- Characters. 6.- Items. 7.- Enemies. 8.- Bosses. 9.- Walkthrough. 9.1.- BLACKMARSH 9.1.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT BLACKMARSH. 9.1.2.- BLACKMARSH: Tolkien should have known better. 9.1.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE OBJECTIVE IN BLACKMARSH. 9.1.4.- WALKTHROUGH. 9.2.- MAZAERA 9.2.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT MAZAERA. 9.2.2.- MAZAERA: Where the Aztecs Meet Super Mario Bros. 9.2.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF MAZAERA OBJECTIVES. 9.2.4.- WALKTHROUGH. 9.3.- THYSIS 9.3.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT THYSIS. 9.3.2.- THYSIS: Walk like an Egyptian. 9.3.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE OBJECTIVES IN THYSIS. 9.3.4.- WALKTHROUGH 9.4.- SEPTIMUS 9.4.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT SEPTIMUS. 9.4.2.- SEPTIMUS: In Rome, do as Romans do. 9.4.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF SEPTIMUS OBJECTIVES. 9.4.4.- WALKTHROUGH. 9.5.- RETURN TO BLACKMARSH. 9.5.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT RETURN TO BLACKMARSH. 9.5.2.- RETURN TO BLACKMARSH: Back in Black. 9.5.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RETURN TO BLACKMARSH OBJECTIVES. 9.5.4.- WALKTHROUGH. 10.- Credits. 11.- Legal Stuff. ***************************************************************************** 1.- File History. - 0.1 Start of the file (09/19/04, 12:02) - 0.2 A year later, I pick up the guide and begin actually writing. Walkthrough for Septimus completed. (11/27/05, 18:51) - 0.2 I've finished the Walkthrough for Blackmarsh II, and a few other touches around. I did this days ago, but today I did some homework as well. (12/08/05, 21:01) - 0.3 Blackmarsh (first visit) done. With only Mazaera and Thysis left to go, I'm wondering if I should actually release the guide as it is. Dunno. - 1.0 Mazaera and Thysis Done. Finally, first released version. (02/24/07, 17:21) Wow, two and a half years. ***************************************************************************** 2.-Introduction. Hexen II is the sequel to the original game, Hexen, which was a very original and innovative FPS, which instead of having you constantly dealing with hordes of enemies, it made you go through some vicious puzzles on a persistent "hub", where you could go back and forth each levels and you actually HAD to do so to complete the tasks given within. Hexen II conserves the same spirit, but it's noticeably more difficult and, using Quake's engine, allows for more impressive environments. A nice game which will have you tied up to your computer for a good time. ***************************************************************************** 3.- About this guide. Oh yeah, the guide is formatted in 800x600. Just in case. Meh. There are a number of problems with Hexen II puzzles, namely the Treasury key on Blackmarsh and the 3x3 puzzle on Thysis. Any help would be appreciated. ***************************************************************************** 4.- History. (Taken from the _Chronicle of Deeds_, the Player's manual) It was precisely one year ago that Eidolon came to our world of Thyrion. On the evening before his arrival, a rain of fire streamed down from the sky, scorching citizens and buildings alike on the four continents of our fair planet. By dawn the populace was fearful and demoralized, and they fell quickly before the march of Eidolon’s vile Golems. The attack was bold and carefully executed. All four continents had fallen by midday: a sad tribute to the withered resistance of our four mighty nations. Even now I am shamed to think of it. Now, a full year after the conquest, Thyrion still huddles in a state of constant fear and dread. The conquest has ended, and many humans yet survive–but in these times of trouble, life itself is a meager blessing. Eidolon’s minions overrun the land and kill its populace for sport. The cleverest humans make themselves unobtrusive, avoiding Eidolon’s creatures and attempting little more than to survive. It is under these dreary conditions that I write the manuscript you now hold in your hands Several hundred years ago, in the time we now call the Age of Dreams, there were rumors of the Serpent Riders. The Serpent Riders were a trio of horrifying demons, wielding powerful magic and commanding vast, formidable armies. They possessed the power to travel from world to world–and everywhere they went, they spread chaos and despair. Their motives were unclear, but their goals were obvious: they wished to possess. That which they could not possess, they strove to destroy. No world was immune, not even our beloved Thyrion. So went the rumors, but few took heed. Some dismissed them as the ravings of a madman, or as fairy tales told to frighten children. Others disputed the very foundation of the stories, denying the existence of worlds beyond our own. And still others took comfort in obscurity: if other worlds did indeed exist, why should the Serpent Riders trouble themselves with Thyrion? How naïve, in retrospect, were our great civilizations. The portents were numerous and easily read, but none–not even I, Sage of Mur–gave them more than a cursory glance. And now we have paid for our ignorance, as all that was prophesied has come to pass. The four great continents of our world have been overrun by demonic hordes, their denizens crushed, scattered, and cruelly enslaved. Our world is, by any measure, utterly lost–and yet I cannot bring myself to believe it. Despite all that I have seen, I assure myself that salvation is yet possible. To this end I write the volume you now see before you. It is a history of the Serpent Riders’ assault on our world, and, hopefully, the counterattack that will free us of their dominion. At present time, the populace has little fuel for hope. None have risen to challenge the dark armies of Eidolon. Still, I continue to maintain my faith. In dreams and visions I have seen a band of unlikely saviors, a defiant flicker in the darkness that cloaks our world. Who these heroes are, I cannot say–but I shall present my visions in the pages of this chronicle. My visions, in fact, are our only reason for hope. They suggest an end to Eidolon’s reign, and the possibility of our world’s restoration. Instead of calling this history The Fall of Thyrion, therefore, I have named it The Chronicle of Deeds, after the deeds of unknown warriors that will hopefully save us all. These deeds I may never be realized, but I steadfastly maintain that they must–for I shudder to think of the alternative. - Themedes, Sage of Mur ***************************************************************************** 5.- Classes. There are four classes for the player to choose, and these are the strong Paladin, the durable Crusader, the magical Necromancer, and the swift Assassin. Each is well suited for a style of game, and each will receive interesting abilities as they gain experience killing enemies, and raise levels. The first skill is received at level 3, while the second is received at level 6. They will become better with more levels. All characters are equally powerful. For begginers, though, the Paladin and the Crusaders are a lot more forgiving than the Assasin and Necromancer, though for experienced players, the latter classes are a lot more effective. _________ | | | PALADIN | |_________| PROFILE: The Paladin, like the Crusader, is a holy man. But while the Crusader is principally a healer, and his skills emphasize defense, the Paladin is a true warrior. The favor of his warlike god protects him, but also gives him strength to smite his foes. Few can match the Paladin in single combat. He lacks stealth and subtlety, instead relying on his mighty weapons and divine favor. The Paladin is a devotee of Kravnos the War God. The Paladin makes his home in the Great Temple of Kravnos, in the city of Mur on Septimus. He blesses the warlike citizens who seek Kravnos’ aid, and like his holy brothers, he rides with the army of Mur whenever the city is threatened by external forces. At the first coming of Eidolon, Mur was among the first cities to fall. Realizing a quick counterstrike would not succeed, the devotees of Kravnos took refuge in their temple. They bided their time and looked for an opportunity to strike, meanwhile honing their martial skills to a razor-sharp edge. A fortnight before their attack, however, their secret was betrayed. An army of Golems and Imps stormed through the temple at midnight, slaughtering unprepared devotees and destroying the holy relics of Kravnos. Only the Paladin, meditating in the bell tower atop the temple, was overlooked. Cursing the informant who gave them away, and doubly cursing his brothers’ lack of preparation, the Paladin decided to act immediately. Casting aside the temple’s carefully-laid plans, he grabbed his mighty sword and marched on Eidolon’s stronghold. Without a clear plan of attack, his odds of success seem lean–but as the sole survivor of his temple, Kravnos will certainly be guiding his steps from afar. DESCRIPTION: The Paladin is better described as a walking wall of muscle. While the other classes find something to hit opponents, the dude goes hand to hand with the monsters. He's got style. Anyway, the Paladin is the slowest but most powerful fighting-wise character in the game. He has a huge advantage over the other classes as his second weapon can be used without mana, and is slightly more powerful than the fists. The main disadvantage of the Paladin is that the second weapon is a melee weapon, prompting you to engage on close range fighting against the enemies, and this is very dangerous against some of the most powerful foes, namely the Fallen Angels and the Skull Wizards. SKILLS: FREE ACTION: Kravnos the war god has an affinity for water. As a minion of Kravnos, the Paladin is capable of moving underwater without the same restrictions as a normal human. While others are forced to laboriously swim, the Paladin traverses the depths as if they were air instead of water. When engaged in battle with a river or lake nearby, he prefers to carry the battle underwater, where he can use this ability to great advantage. The Paladin can move freely on water as though he was actually flying. This is of great advantage on most levels since swimming is a really annoying part of the game. Not to mention he can't drown. DIVINE INTERVENTION: When brought to the brink of death by his enemies, the Paladin sometimes receives a great boon from Kravnos. As the lethal blow lands, the Paladin does not die. Rather, he enters a mystical state: he grows in strength and stature and becomes a holy scourge, seeking to avenge the evildoers who tried to lay him low. In this state the Paladin cannot be killed, and his powers grow to otherwise impossible heights. When killed, the Paladin sometimes gets invincible, and gets a boost, with extra strenght for his weapons. This is very useful, but very random as well. WEAPONS: GAUNTLETS: Hit 'em 'till they drop dead. The Gauntlets are an effective and surprisingly damaging weapon. Powered up, they knock enemies down, hopefully down a pit or similar. VORPAL SWORD: The main advantage of the Paladin, the sword is a regular powerful sword, and can be used without mana. Unfortunately, it is still a melee weapon, and as such, a pain to deal with some enemies, not to mention bosses. Powered up, sends lightning bolts to tear down enemies. AXE: The axe is a ranged weapon which literally cuts through enemies to hit the ones behind it and bounces off walls. Very useful, but eats up mana like there is no tomorrow. Powered up, three axes go flying for blood. PURIFIER: The ultimate weapon of the Paladin is a powerful machine gun of sorts which is very useful. Powered up, it shoots up a guided fireball. MAX STATS: Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 10 Dextery: 13 Strength: 18 __________ | | | CRUSADER | |__________| PROFILE: The Crusader is a holy man and a healer. Armed with both his faith and an array of mystical weapons, he is a staunch opponent of Eidolon. His superb defensive skills and mystical powers make him extremely hardy and resistant, and will serve him in good stead on his upcoming quest. Raised in a small, wind-swept monastery in the southern hills of Blackmarsh, the Crusader is familiar with hardships of all kinds. He was taken into the monastery at an early age, after being abandoned by unknown parents at the monastery’s stone gates. With only the most barren of surroundings to distract his attention, the Crusader attacked his studies with the utmost fervor. This singular lack of distractions has molded a distinct, earnest and intense personality; few can match his single-minded pursuit of knowledge, or his remarkable force of will. The Crusader was not taught to destroy, but rather to heal. Healing, however, is sometimes a painful process: the canker that resists salves and balms must be burned or excised. As the first year of Eidolon’s reign drew to a close, the Crusader realized the nature of Thyrion’s blight: it could not be quelled by peaceful means, but rather must be driven from the land. To this end he increased his already rigorous regimen of study, practicing martial skills in addition to the skills of the healer. One day, as the Crusader drilled in the monastery yard with his great Warhammer, the looming figure of a Golem trudged past the ancient stone gates. Never before had Eidolon’s minions ventured so far into the countryside. The Crusader realized that Eidolon had started a new campaign: he sought to rein in the wayward country folk, driving home his point by force of arms. The Crusader donned his armor and put aside his healer’s herbs, knowing the time for action had finally arrived. DESCRIPTION: The Crusader is a very defensive class. Though not as powerful as the Paladin nor as swift as the Assassin (neither is he as destructive as the Necromancer), he can withstand lots of pain thanks to his two abilities. His weapons are very effective and he's probably the most benefited by the Tome of Power. As a jack of all trades, he's master of none. Save that particular detail, he's powerful but fairly weak against flying enemies. SKILLS: REVIVIFICATION: The Crusader has the power to periodically heal himself, though this power is not completely under his own control. As he fights the enemies of Thyrion, he is constantly learning and gaining insights. It is during his most intense combats, and hence his most intense periods of learning, that his body is apt to be completely restored. In this way, the Crusader’s god rewards action over sloth. Ocassionally, the Crusader will self-regenerate over time. This is very slow ussually, though with more levels, it will go off more often. HOLY STRENGHT: Occasionally, when the Crusader slays an enemy, a magical sphere appears over the corpse of his foe. This sphere represents the vitality and power of the enemy. By collecting this sphere the Crusader is able to partake of his opponent’s power and add it to his own. For a brief time his strength is superhuman, and he can perform feats of unlikely heroism. Eventually this power fades, however, and the Crusader returns to normal strength. When killing enemies, you can sometimes find a cross. Pick it, and you will gain a boost in power for a small ammount of time. Pretty cool and useful. WEAPONS: WARHAMMER: The Warhammer is a good weapon, particulary effective when powered up thanks to its boomerang effect. This is quite good, since it can hit enemies it originally missed. Good weapon in all. ICE MACE: Quick and long-lasting weapon, this weapon will freeze up enemies when killed with it. You're free to shatter them afterwards. Powered up, it causes a small storm on its target, dealing a lot of damage and it's very difficult to dodge. METEOR SHAFT: A grenade launcher of sorts, this weapon fires a barrage of exploding fireballs. It's sorta innacurate and not very useful, but hell is it damaging. Powered up it's better looking, but still not useful or effective. LIGHTBRINGER: The Lightbringer fires up a powerful ray of light which will go through anything on its path, which is quite a good thing. Powered up will shoot up three ray of light. MAX STATS: Intelligence: 13 Wisdom: 18 Dextery: 10 Strength: 15 _____________ | | | NECROMANCER | |_____________| PROFILE: The Necromancer is a self-styled lord of the dead. Though physically weak, his potent magic and dark talents make him a formidable combatant. He likes to fight from a distance, where his powerful ranged weapons can decimate even the most formidable of enemies. The Necromancer spent his early years in a small village of Thysis, huddled in the shadow of a monolithic pyramid. His people were lean and wiry, but the Necromancer was thinner and weaker than most. He lived in a great, cavernous house with only his aunt to mind him, his parents having died in a plague not long after his birth. An unattractive appearance and the lack of a family conspired against the Necromancer, robbing him of confidence and making him morbidly self-conscious. His days and nights were spent inside his aunt’s decaying mansion, and very rarely did he emerge. He longed for a power-any power-that would increase his stature in village society. He wished to be handsome, or strong, or wealthy, or clever in conversation. But as time wore on, and he grew from a lad to a young man, it became clear that he possessed none of these skills. Bitter and alone, the Necromancer’s desire for acceptance slowly withered into hatred. He no longer wished to impress the villagers, but rather, to frighten and punish them. His thoughts turned to the ancient pyramid that overshadowed the village. For the villagers, this monument was an object of superstitious dread. Seeking to partake of that power and dread, the young Necromancer entered the pyramid. Within, he found what he sought: a set of ten crumbling papyrus scrolls, each inked with runes of great power. Through study and diligence he learned the magic scribed therein, and soon began to terrorize the village with legions of undead servitors. But the coming of Eidolon quickly ended his reign of terror. No longer was the Necromancer dreaded by the villagers; Eidolon and his minions were now the focus of their dread. The Necromancer, it seemed, was no longer all-powerful. Bitter and enraged by the helplessness welling up from within, the Necromancer came to a desperate conclusion. Eidolon must not be allowed to steal his precious power. Eidolon must be destroyed! DESCRIPTION: One of the most impressive graphic-wise classes, the Necromancer is a very good class so long as you can actually dodge enemies and have a very wide place to run around. The Necromancer is ridiculously fragile, and his weapons aren't exactly damaging. However, the Necromancer's powered weapons are the best weapons in the game, period. The Necromancer's weakness in open combat are made up by his massive mana pools and powerful powered up weapons, but should be handled by experienced players. SKILLS: SOUL STEAL: The Necromancer’s skills are truly unique, and most of them revolve around Soul Spheres. When the Necromancer slays an opponent, a Soul Sphere is left behind. This sphere is invisible to all but the Necromancer. It represents the life force and vitality of the recently-slain foe. The Necromancer may collect a Soul Sphere simply by touching it, thus collecting the energy in the form of mana or healing. As the Necromancer gains skill, his chances of benefiting from a Soul Sphere slowly increase. Every once in awhile, a soul sphere will appear when killing an opponent. This will restore some of the Necromancer's life and some mana sometimes. They look like floating skulls. DRAIN LIFE: The Necromancer’s sickle is also a source of power. Whenever the Necromancer strikes a foe with this sickle, he has a chance to drain vitality from his opponent and add to his own health. This is not a common or predictable occurrence, but it is often helpful when the Necromancer enters precarious situations. The sickle, on higher levels, can suck up some life out of the opponents. This is very rare as a matter of facts, so don't count on it, though it will force you to use your sickle on tough situations. Be careful with it. WEAPONS: SICKLE: Not the most formidable weapon, but the drain life ability is very useful. Powered up, increases in range and power. And it glows. MAGIC MISSILES: These classic D&D spells are weak, but quick and take very little mana to be shot. Your main weapon throughout the game. Powered up, it will shoot three missiles. BONE SHARDS: A rapid-fire spell, it's powerful but it takes lots of mana to be used. Powered up it will shoot a shard grenade of sorts which will do lots of damage, killing most foes with a single blow. RAVEN STAFF: The Raven staff shoots several shards which cut thru enemies. Powerful as hell, but takes lots of mana as well. Powered up, it will release a band of ravens which will attack the opponent. This can actually lock up the game, so don't shoot too many ravens at once. MAX STATS: Intelligence: 18 Wisdom: 13 Dextery: 12 Strength: 10 __________ | | | ASSASSIN | |__________| The Assassin is a mistress of stealth, disguise, and trickery. Whereas the Paladin rushes into combat with a mighty roar, the Assassin sneaks up from behind. Many of the Assassin’s weapons and skills are geared toward trickery and concealment. From her devastating ability to backstab an opponent to the deadly Hand Crossbow, it is clear the Assassin is always ready for an unfair fight. The Assassin hails from Khitar, one of the few true cities in the jungles of Mazaera. As a child she watched her parents toil as farmers, reaping a meager harvest from the unforgiving jungle soil. A farmer’s life is always difficult, but even more so in Mazaera, where the land is particularly unsuited to the task. The Assassin learned this by observation, and she learned even more as she prowled the streets of Khitar–against her parents’ wishes. Wealthy folk of all description wandered those unpaved streets: gem merchants with stout bodyguards, proud mercenaries bearing gold-hilted scimitars, and slavers in ivory-trimmed palanquins. None spared a second glance for an urchin in dirty rags. As days and years went by, the Assassin became scornful of her parents. Rich folk gained their wealth by treading upon the weak, and only weak fools would till the accursed, clay-filled soil of Mazaera. Vowing never to become a fool like her parents, she ran away at the age of fifteen and took up the dark career of the assassin. First preying upon drunkards and the unwary, she gradually learned the tricks of her bloody trade, and began to aim for wealthier victims. Her skills grew by leaps and bounds. Nobody, it seemed, was safe from her depredations. With a small fortune accumulated in her secret lair, the Assassin soon realized she had become bored with her trade. She required ever richer victims, more and more danger, to sustain the thrill of the hunt. Who remained that could pose a challenge? Kings? Emperors? With a crooked smile, she decided upon her next victim: the richest and most powerful being on all of Thyrion. Armed with Katar and Crossbow, she set forth on her quest to rid the world of Eidolon. DESCRIPTION: Experimenting with the Assassin, you can say it's the one class you can have more fun with in the game. With her back attacks (allowing for as much as FOUR times regular damage with one hit) and her stealthy powers, strategy is everything when playing with her. Fast, damaging and fun spell the most flawed (due to her weapons) and the most powerful (due to her abilities and speed) character in the game. Her weakness are glaring, though. Her weapons aren't powerful (the Katar and the Crossbow are definitely weak), neither are they easy to use (the bombs, period). However, her abilities and sneaky approach is quite an asset. SKILLS: HIDE IN SHADOWS: The Assassin is a Mistress of stealth and deadly strikes. The first noteworthy ability the Assassin gains is that of stealth: she can render herself invisible when standing perfectly still in a shadowed area. It takes a few seconds for her to achieve this invisibility, but once attained, the illusion is perfect. It is rumored that Assassins can master this skill in broad daylight when their skills are all but perfected. The Assassin can hide in shadows by simply staying on a shadowed area for a few seconds. This will make all monsters oblivious of her pressence, allowing for surprise strikes, and for escaping. At higher levels it will be almost instant and she will eventually gain the ability to hide anywhere. NOTE: I'd like to note that transparencies aren't really nice with non-GL modes for any Quake Engine Game (tm). Playing with the Assassin might give you a headache if you're not playing GLHexen, as slowdowns (particulary at higher levels) will be a real bitch. CRITICAL STRIKE: The Assassin makes very little sound when moving, and is often able to surprise her victims. Creeping up from behind, she strikes before her foes acknowledge her presence. When attacking in this fashion, she is capable of dealing much more damage than she otherwise would. This ability also comes into play when the Assassin strikes a foe who knows of her existence, but allows her to get behind him. This is a rare occurrence, but occasionally significant when she fights sluggish opponents such as Golems. Powerful stuff and an important weapon against some opponents (the Mummy and the aforementioned Golem come to mind), sneaking up behind opponents will hit for monstruous damage. Playing smart will pay off. And this only works with the Katar. WEAPONS: KATAR: Regular melee weapon. Coupled with Critical strike it's pretty good, but the damage done isn't impressive with facing them. Powered up: more power and range, plus it pushes enemies back. HAND CROSSBOW: Your main weapon due to the ease of use, though it takes three hits to down a single Archer. The three arrows it shoots can be unnaturaly aimed at three different targets, though it's rare enough to face three enemies unless they are fairly minor. Powered up, it fires five arrows for almost double damage. GRENADES: Standard hand grenades, difficult to use but powerful once you get the hang of them. Powered up, it sends a big grenade that explodes into more grenades, which is ridiculously funny to watch yet rarely useful. STAFF OF SET: The most impressive weapon, graphic-wise, when powered up, where it ties enemies to four chains and holds them up. Otherwise, shoots a powerful scarab which can be powered up by holding the fire button. MAX STATS: Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 15 Dextery: 18 Strength: 13 ************************************************************************* 6.- Items. 6.1.- PICK UP ITEMS. HEAL VIAL: Common item. Easy to find, restores ten health points. BLUE MANA: The more common mana color. Restores an ammount of blue mana. GREEN MANA: A little harder to find. Restores green mana. COMBINED MANA: A lot harder to find. Look slike red boxes. Restores both blue and green mana. 6.2.- INVENTORY ITEMS QUARTZ FLASK: A common item, it restores 30 HP. MYSTIC URN: Quite a rare sight, it restores 100 HP. KRATER OF MIGHT: Restores ALL mana, both colors. ICON OF DEFENDER: This item turns the user invulnerable to all attacks. Now, this is quite cheap, but there is a funny side effect: All character classes give out this effect very loudly: - The Assassin fades in and out of sight. Predator might be sueing her. - The Necromancer shrouds in darkness. If you've got to be cheap, at least look cool doing it. - The Paladin, uh... turns into stone. Golems might also sue him, if they weren't stupid enough to have trouble going down the stairs. - The Crusader GLOWS. 'nuff said. CHAOS DEVICE: Transports the user back to the entrance of the level. Level, not hub. This is great for escaping ambushes and when you're too lazy to go back on your own. BOOTS OF SPEED: Gives the user extra movement speed. Now, against the Apocalypse Riders, this is extremely useful to keep up with them (particulary against Pestilence), but most levels are far too confined to make good use of them, plus the blue sparks are very annoying. The one exception is the second hub, Mazaera, which makes sense, as it is the more action-oriented hub. Damn were-jaguars. DISCS OF REPULSION: This deflects projectiles aimed your way, as well as push monsters and enemies away. As an important note, the only enemy it fails to move is the Cobra at Thysis and Eidolon himself. All others are vulnerable, including the Apocalypse Riders. TOME OF POWER: Powers up all weapons. For detailed effects, look at the character's section. SEAL OF THE OVINOMANCERS: Turns enemies hit by the projectiles (it shoots five, at about a meter and a half distance between them) into sheeps, which you can easily slaughter. Blood everywhere with the sheeps. NOTE: I should mention, like in Peter Jackson's BAD TASTE, they don't die. They explode. Sheeps are like walking balloons, apparently. FORCE CUBE: When activated, it becomes a satelite cube that shoots at nearby enemies. Lasts for a very short while, and you can have as many as four at the same time. These cubes are actually solid, and they might get in the way. Be careful. GLYPH OF THE ANCIENTS: Deserving a full section on its own, the Glyphs are either the best or the most useless items of the games, depending on your own style of playing. Depending of the character, it will behave differently: - The Assassin throws the thing against the wall, where it will uh, *grow* a chain that will, bassically, work like a tripbomb. Anyone stupid enough to touch the chain will enjoy the explosion. Wonderful to damage those Acher Lords, useless against bosses. - The Crusader leaves the thing floating in there, where it will explode after three seconds. Wonderful against some bosses (Pestilence, above them all), particulary hard (but effective) to use against regular enemies. - The Paladin throws the thing like a grenade. Keeps it simple, and in my honest opinion the best way to use an explosive device. - The Necromancer leaves the thing floating, where it will find home on the nearest enemy. Might be too slow to deal with some of the tougher enemies, like Fallen Angels and / or any Wizard. STONE OF SUMMONING: Right off the bat, this items summons a Fire Imp that fights for you. That said, it's one of the most whimsical and capricious, goddamn spoiled, and frigging *i-do-whatever-the-hell-i-want-to-do* items I've ever wrestled with. It will work, only when it wants to do, for some reason, otherwise it will stay there as a regular item, waiting for you to pick it up. I always end up too frustrated and many swear words later, I tend just to leave the things on my inventory. INVISIBILITY SPHERE: Turns the user invisible. That said, it's a scream on multiplayer, but on single player it's downright useless. A single sound will make the monsters home on you regardless whether they see you or not. TORCH: Gives off extra light. Obviously useful, but not needed at all. 6.3.- RINGS RING OF FLYING: Lets you, well, fly. It's a chaos to use, but it's needed to get some items, and it's a necessity to beat Death. Otherwise, not very useful. Drained continually. RING OF WATER BREATHING: Lets you breath on water (duh). Only drained while on water. RING OF REGENERATION: Slowly restores your health to a maximum. Only drained when you need the health. RING OF REFLECTION: Theoretically, it bounces projectiles off you. In practice, only 50% or so of them are actually repelled. Drained only when reflecting stuff. 6.4.- ARMOR Armor types are all used by any class, though they all behave differently about which class picks it up. ************************************************************************* 7.- Enemies. - ARCHERS: Annoying as hell, probable cause of death amongst all of you poor newbies. Sorry, but I'll remember you now: Your character sucks at the start. Archers are surprisingly tough for such a common enemy, but that's more because of your limited a)level b)arsenal c)mana d)HP level e)patience f)experience g)items... and probably more. That said, they are easy to get the hang of. They shoot two arrows, a green regular one, and a red one which will push you back. They can dodge shoots (not very effectively, though) by kneeling. - ARCHER LORDS: Considerably more skilled than Knight Archers, Archer Lords are pretty much however the same, only much more resistant, are much more annoying. Archer Lords are more straightforward than Knights. No need to mess with that damn green arrow, just red ones. This arrow is about the same as before, but the Lords' rate of fire in noticeable faster and their aim is incredible. They can calculate your movement to stab the arrow between your eyebrows. The solution, as ussual, is to kill them, well, quickly. Bad news, they are almost never alone. Finally, watch out for their kneeling down. For some stomache or some other reason, they love to duck. - FIRE IMP: Flying pests that will piss you off as long as you play the game, they are about as tough as a mosquito, but they are nimble and they will evade your shoots like they were making fun of your ridiculous weapons and spells, as they send fireballs down your throat and float for a head-to-face collision which is incredible difficult to evade, if only because half the time you won't even know where they are coming from. Keeping that in mind, the best way to deal with Fire Imps is to be aware that they are around. Unlike the ridiculous "Horseshack" of the Archer, it's impossible to miss the wing sound of the Imps. - BLACK SPIDERS: Probably the first enemy you'll see, Spiders are six legged arachnides that feast on flesh, particulary your flesh (bite me). Their only attack is to bite at you, and they are pretty weak and easy to dispatch. Spider's biggest asset is that they are pretty small and that makes you kneel in order to hit them easily, and until you get that swift move perfected, you're in for a world of hurt. Furthermore, their small size will ironically take your attention away from monsters that are actually worth it (IE: Skull Wizards). - BROWN SPIDERS: Tough enough to sustain a couple rounds from your third weapon, this spider is the digi-evolution of the black one (no matter what the manual says). Brown spiders are faster, smarter, and tougher than black ones. Furthermore, they also come in packs, and are particulary fond of other monsters, often throwing themselves at you in hopes of catching your well-calculated missile with their jaws. The results are often messy. As scorpions, they tend to dodge slower weapons. - HYDRA: An annoyance for most characters (only the Assassin tends to have slights problems dealing with them early on), the hydras are the only water thing you'll find in the game (save the wooden fishes at Septimus). They can attack with their tentacles close on, and spitting a blinding ink at you when far away. They move quite quickly and it will take some practice avoiding their attacks. Now, seriously, this thing doesn't really looks like an hydra. An Hydra is supposed to have like seven heads, grow new heads until some Hercules came over to kill it, and spit fire. This thing looks like a giant jellyfish. Geez! What were they thinking of? - IRON GOLEM: Probably the easiest enemy in the game if they weren't abnormally tough to take down. You're always tempted to hit them head-to-head, but they do a lot of damage with their fists, and it's not really recommended for weaker characters. No, I'm not talking about the Necromancer. Iron Golems are Cannon Fodder, like all golems, but probably you will find problems dealing with them because of the ridiculous endurance and damaging attacks. - BRONZE GOLEMS: (Or "Golems XP" as I called them once) Bronze Golems are not only tough and very damaging. They are also pretty ugly to look at. Oh yeah, there is that laser thing too. The last update for the Golems are about the same as before, but their ranged attack now is an slow-moving laser that is probably going to make you curse. As before, they are not much more than cannon fodder (hell, the *game* calls them that), but this one is particulary annoying. - GOLDEN GOLEMS: I'm hesistant to call these a new enemy, and I'm pulling that "GOLDEN" title out of my ass, because, besides being absolutely massive, these Golems aren't that much different from the previous Bronze Golems. That said, I have witnessed Golems in Blackmarsh II pull an area attack, which is them stomping on the ground, damaging any poor player in the vincinity, which is a pretty nasty surprise for Assassins trying to get critical on their punk behinds. I haven't seen any other golem doing that, so take that as you will. As such, tactics are about the same, except for the roguish gal. - SKULL WIZARDS: Wearing red robes, with skeletal appareance, a pretty big bull skull in place of a head, and holding a book (presumably a copy of the NECRONOMICON or MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS), Skull Wizards rank amongst the deadliest enemies in the game, thanks to their homing magic missiles, and their most potent weapon, their teleport skill, which will frustrate even the most dedicated hero. Wizards will scream out missiles and teleport when you're near them, which makes them almost impossible to face with melee weapons. You'll scream many ugly words, you will smash your keyboard against the floor, you will curse your mouse, but none of that works. Just shoot the thing. Oh, and it will release one or two black spiders when killed. Yay. - SHADOW WIZARDS: Do you remember Skull Wizards? Do you remember the first time you found one? Do you remember all the swearing you used that horrible time? Get ready to curse again. Shadow Wizards are amongst the most dangerous and terrible foes in the game, for they are Skull Wizards Part II: The Bull Skull's Strikes Back. They are twice as tough, twice as damaging, and teleport twice as often. Fortunately they are rare at best, and always alone. As their lesser cousins, they turn into spiders when killed. But this time, they are brown spiders, not sissy black ones. Bad times for you. - MEDUSAS: The newest entry to the enemies' list, the Medusas are green, ugly, and disturbing. Why, you might ask? They are naked, and when killed, their head keeps moving. Eerie. Their acid venom is not only dangerous, it's also homing. How the hell, or what do they eat, they are able to move their saliva once out of their mouths is beyond me, but as much as I try, they won't answer to me. They also can paralyze you, dare you even stand near them. I don't think i have done that, though. I'm not stupid enough to do that. That said, I'm stupid enough to do other things, like getting drunk at the girl-i-like's house. - FALLEN ANGELS: Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. I present you the one most hellishly tough, difficult, annoying and powerful enemy in the game. Fallen Angels resemble women with gray dresses, golden bracers, blonde hair up. And Wings. I almost forgot that. You can tell they are Fallen because their wings are like bat's. And, well, because an Angel shouldn't be trying to kill a Crusader or a Paladin. It's way too much out of flavor. Angels attack with two different projectiles, though strategically you don't want to get hit by any of them. Furthermore, their natural transparency is annoying and they can protect themselves with their wings. And they fly. There is a variation of the Fallen Angels. Dressed in Red Clothes, and brunnetes, they seem not to differ so much from their sisters: except that they are solid, and much tougher. ************************************************************************* 8.- Bosses. ________ | | | FAMINE | (Found at Blackmarsh) |________| Famine will throw out two different kind of projectile: a three way attack, and a heat-seeking attack. Furthermore, if he catches you nearby, he will throw out a powerful red laser which deals a lot of damage. Otherwise, he will run around and teleport ocasionally. Keep a tome of power up at all times, and use your second weapon. While his attacks are very damaging, and he's kinda frustrating to hit as he will teleport, he is really easy. _______ | | | DEATH | |_______| Beating Death is a given, of course, if you know how to fly. Death will fly around attacking you. It's a damn annoyance to chase him around, but it's the best way to deal with him, since he's mighty tough to hit otherwise. In the middle of the battlefield is a trapdoor of sorts which will open up when you get near. Don't try to enter it, it's an instant kill for some reason. It will also open a big door around which has plenty of goodies for you to pillage. ____________ | | | PESTILENCE | (Found at Thysis) |____________| Pestilence is a hooded guy with something that resembles a crossbow. And he's riding a giant boar. Points for originality. Pestilence is the most complicated boss in the game. He can ram you with his boar, which moves quite fast, he shoots with his thing, and, the most annoying part, he relases a swarm of mosquitoes to attack you. There is a room behind your start point which is your safe haven, unfortunately, his flies can enter this room to make your life miserable. You probably might want to use boots in adition to your fourth weapon and a Tome of Power. He's very hard to avoid and his horde of flies are a pain in the rear. The boots help a lot. Finally, you can stuck him rather easy. Just lure him to a corner, and keep a pillar sorta between you both. He can shoot and perhaps release a bunch of mosquitoes, but he won't be able to move unless you approach the center of the room. Not as useful as you might think, but his boar raming you is his most damaging attack, so it is still an exploitable, and completely fair, bug. _____ | | | WAR | (Found at Septimus) |_____| War resembles a really buff dude, riding a horse, with an armor and an axe. It isn't precisely impressive, but hell is he tough. Furthermore, there is a funny bug on his behaviour. If you don't begin shooting the hell out of him, all he will do is run around the area, laughing and doing cool-looking moves on his horse. As with all previous bosses, if you're brave enough with the Assassin, you can hack him with your Katar for Critical Damage rather easily. War's attacks are trampling you, should you ever dare to stand on his way, and throwing a couple of homing axes, pretty much like the Paladin's. However, that's more than enough to kick your ass. Run like hell, take cover, and keep a Tome of Power active at all times. Shoot away. He will take breaks between his Axe Throwing routines, which is your chance to chase him down. War is the least complicated of all the Riders, but it's certainly the most damaging and most durable of them all. _________ | | | EIDOLON | (Found at Blackmarsh Revisited) |_________| Eidolon's a big demon. That's about it: he's almost cute. He's a big red demon, with horns, a tail, and a hot temper. As you enter the lair, go forward and approach the opposite wall: he'll pop off it like the KOOL-AID MAN. His only attack is to send some homing green energy blasts at you, which are pretty damaging, and difficult to dodge. Eidolon shares his bad sight with Fallen Angels: If he can't see you, he won't even move (You'll find later that it's damn hard for him not to see ya). As with bassically all bosses, you can loop him by staying behind a colum, move to the side, shoot, and hide back. However, he *can* hit you, but you should be able to get through using this lame tactic. BTW, he has a LOT of HP. After enough damage's been done, in the middle, the key will be raised: The Chaos Sphere will appear, granting Eidolon a massive overhaul, receiving two new attacks (a melee attack, and a lightning attack at random. To avoid this, just keep moving and using those Quartz Flasks: it's almost impossible to avoid all damage)... and growing up. Hitting Puberty is always a tough thing. Aim at the chaos sphere. Seriously, you'll do shit shooting at him. The Assassin should go up close and personal and use the katar. Attack it with it to get Critical Strikes from almost any side, and plus you save mana. Once destroyed, Eidolon will keep being big. By now, keep moving and shoot at him. If you ever run out of mana, you'll have to resort to use the crossbow around. It's nearly impossible to hit him melee, not to mention lethal and stupid. After enough damage, he will die, and you will have completed HEXEN II. ************************************************************************* 9.- Walkthrough. Quick Question (from the reader): Why are you repeating the Bosses and Enemies information at the walkthrough? Answer: Because people will probably pan out the enemy and boss list, then scroll back when they need help dealing with them. I just wanted to save them the work of. Furthermore, some enemies need to be treated different, and the strategies to deal with them are in the walkthrough. And no, it isn't to add more KB to the guide. I'm sick of those 870 KB guides that do not help me. As a quick guide, refer to CTRL+F to search for each hub: BLACKMARSH [HUB_BLK1] MAZAERA [HUB_MAZA] THYSIS [HUB_THYS] SEPTIMUS [HUB_SEPT] BLACKMARSH REVISITED [HUB_BLK2] (Just copy and paste the [STUFF], which wil take you, elegantly, to each hub. Sorry about ruining the game, but yes, the game ends at Blackmarsh.) Unlike that piece of emotional greatness that was my Quake walkthrough, no music recommendations are included for each level (I'm so not changing CDs whenever I forgot something two levels ago), but I've included a few selections of whatever I was listening at the time of writing. Don't make a CD out of my choices: It's such a clash of styles that I'm surprised I haven't gone insane yet. ________________________________________ 9.1.- | | | BLACKMARSH - FAMINE'S REIGN [HUB_BLK1] | |________________________________________| 9.1.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT BLACKMARSH: - ARCHERS: Annoying as hell, probable cause of death amongst all of you poor newbies. Sorry, but I'll remember you now: Your character sucks at the start. Archers are surprisingly tough for such a common enemy, but that's more because of your limited a)level b)arsenal c)mana d)HP level e)patience f)experience g)items... and probably more. That said, they are easy to get the hang of. They shoot two arrows, a green regular one, and a red one which will push you back. They can dodge shoots (not very effectively, though) by kneeling. Assassin Approach: CRITICAL STRIKE!!! A WINNAR IS j00!! Seriously, though, your Katar is great to practice those critical strike on these poor fellas backs. Crusader Approach: Your melee weapon shall do the job. Just expect to get hit every once in a while. Think of it as a test of your faith, and roleplay that holier than thou attitude. Necromancer Approach: You're weak. Slow... This is your worst nightmare this early into the game. Your best bet is to actually take them out from a distance with that Magic Missile spell. Paladin Approach: No need for weakling's weapons. Punch them into oblivion. - BLACK SPIDERS: Probably the first enemy you'll see, Spiders are six legged arachnides that feast on flesh, particulary your flesh (bite me). Their only attack is to bite at you, and they are pretty weak and easy to dispatch. Spider's biggest asset is that they are pretty small and that makes you kneel in order to hit them easily, and until you get that swift move perfected, you're in for a world of hurt. Furthermore, their small size will ironically take your attention away from monsters that are actually worth it (IE: Skull Wizards). Assassin Approach: Katar. Crusader Approach: Warhammer. Necromancer: Sickle. Paladin: Gauntlets. Seriously, if you need help killing Spiders, kneel down. If you still can't deal with them, kneel down, and shoot yourself in the face. At least your dead body will look pretty gothic and emo. - FIRE IMP: Flying pests that will piss you off as long as you play the game, they are about as tough as a mosquito, but they are nimble and they will evade your shoots like they were making fun of your ridiculous weapons and spells, as they send fireballs down your throat and float for a head-to-face collision which is incredible difficult to evade, if only because half the time you won't even know where they are coming from. Keeping that in mind, the best way to deal with Fire Imps is to be aware that they are around. Unlike the ridiculous "Horseshack" of the Archer, it's impossible to miss the wing sound of the Imps. Assassin Approach: Swift attacks are not really a threat for the fastest characters in the game. Crossbow for an easy kill. Crusader Approach: For some reason, the Crusader always has a lot of trouble with flying enemies. Ice Mace it's your best bet. Necromancer Approach: Don't really try to use the Sickle. It won't be pretty. Use the Magic Missiles, and note the 1d4+1 damage. Okay, that was a very nerd joke, but you probably didn't got it. Paladin Approach: While you will take a beating, it's probably the only way to deal with them: Use your Gauntlets. They are powerful enough to kill them in one hit, and save the mana for other stuff. - IRON GOLEM: Probably the easiest enemy in the game if they weren't abnormally tough to take down. You're always tempted to hit them head-to-head, but they do a lot of damage with their fists, and it's not really recommended for weaker characters. No, I'm not talking about the Necromancer. Iron Golems are Cannon Fodder, like all golems, but probably you will find problems dealing with them because of the ridiculous endurance and damaging attacks. Assassin Approach: While your speed is a big asset against these brutes, they are quite the bullies, and not much of a gentlemen, for if they catch you they will pound your pretty body to dust. Critical strikes if possible, as they will fall down to one or two of them. Crusader Approach: Use your warhammer, hit, retreat, rinse and repeat. Necromancer Approach: Funny how that sexy gal with that hunting knife it's a lot more resistant and more damaging than you somber dude with a big ass scythe. Run away and use your Magic Missiles. Weak sex my bony ass, I hear you scream. Paladin Approach: *cue Rocky's Theme* Go get 'em Rocky Balboa! N00bTE: If you're not old enough to remember, Rocky's a movie about a boxer, starring our beloved Silvester Stallone and one of the most useless managers in history (only better than Doc from PUNCH-OUT!) - HYDRA: An annoyance for most characters (only the Assassin tends to have slights problems dealing with them early on), the hydras are the only water thing you'll find in the game (save the wooden fishes at Septimus). They can attack with their tentacles close on, and spitting a blinding ink at you when far away. They move quite quickly and it will take some practice avoiding their attacks. Now, seriously, this thing doesn't really looks like an hydra. An Hydra is supposed to have like seven heads, grow new heads until some Hercules came over to kill it, and spit fire. This thing looks like a giant jellyfish. Geez! What were they thinking of? Assassin Approach: For some reason, dealing with these enemies is a pain with the grrl. Try to stay away and keep moving, and use your crossbow. Otherwise, try to pick them off from safe ground. Crusader Approach: Try to pick them with the Ice mace from a distance. Don't be too distracted though. There are more important things, like breathing. Necromancer Approach: Magic Missiles + Hydras = INSTANT WIN Paladin Approach: Heh. Once you reach level 3, they will probably grow a new script in order to run away from you. Really, go up to them and punch them in the nads. - SKULL WIZARDS: Wearing red robes, with skeletal appareance, a pretty big bull skull in place of a head, and holding a book (presumably a copy of the NECRONOMICON or MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS), Skull Wizards rank amongst the deadliest enemies in the game, thanks to their homing magic missiles, and their most potent weapon, their teleport skill, which will frustrate even the most dedicated hero. Wizards will scream out missiles and teleport when you're near them, which makes them almost impossible to face with melee weapons. You'll scream many ugly words, you will smash your keyboard against the floor, you will curse your mouse, but none of that works. Just shoot the thing. Oh, and it will release one or two black spiders when killed. Yay. General Approach: There is no enemy tougher than these until you meet their bigger cousins, the Shadow Wizards, so your best bet for now is to use your bigger weapon, whip out a Tome of Power, and keep moving. The one which will have the most pain is the Assassin due to the low power of her Crossbow this far into the game (It's actually weaker than the Katar), but her speed will prove unvaluable. All other classes will have a tough time, but should be able to survive, provided their encounters are few and far between. That said, on Hard Skill, there is one as a particulary sadistic joke behind the door which leads to the Mage's Lab. Joyful. As a side note, they will always teleport behind your character. - ARCHER LORDS: Considerably more skilled than Knight Archers, Archer Lords are pretty much however the same, only much more resistant, are much more annoying. Archer Lords are more straightforward than Knights. No need to mess with that damn green arrow, just red ones. This arrow is about the same as before, but the Lords' rate of fire in noticeable faster and their aim is incredible. They can calculate your movement to stab the arrow between your eyebrows. The solution, as ussual, is to kill them, well, quickly. Bad news, they are almost never alone. Finally, watch out for their kneeling down. For some stomache or some other reason, they love to duck. General Approach: There is only one Archer Lord in Blackmarsh, and it's on an easy ground. Fortunately, as they are a lot more annoying than you might think. Get in their face, shoot or hit, and duck. You won't see them again until Septimus. - ALSO STARRING: Sheeps. - MID-BOSS: The Crystal Golem. Unkillable until certain items are collected. - FINAL BOSS: First Apocalypse Rider: Famine. 9.1.2.- BLACKMARSH: Tolkien should have known better. The adventure starts in the damp and creepy medieval world of Blackmarsh, one of the longest hubs in the game (ironic to be the first), with enough action to keep you entertained, though Puzzles don't really make too much sense. Blackmarsh's medieval setting is a perfect link to Hexen's world, where it was all castles and keeps. It's pretty well detailed, and with a few surprises for you to find. Good luck! For the record, while starting the walkthrough (as you might have noticed in the version history), I was midway through Septimus, playing with the Assassin. I've previously finished the game with the Paladin and with the Necromancer (actually, I think I haven't with the Paladin... but I remember finishing the first game with it, and I kinda mix them up...), and I'll be playing with the Crusader for the first three hubs. Techies. 9.1.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE OBJECTIVE IN BLACKMARSH. Blackmarsh's general objective is to find and destroy the Crystal Golem in order to reach Famine and kill it. In order to reach and destroy the Crystal golem, well, there is lot to do. The Crystal Golem in invisible, so to see it, we require the Lens of Seeing, which are, obviously, made with Glasses, which in turn are made with Sand. The sand can be found, well, at the beach, but here we can find it behind a locked door on the Stables, so we require to find the key. The problem is, to reach the Golem, we also require to find the Scroll of Disrupt Magic to destroy the wall guarding the treasury room, which is hidden on a door locked by the Tailor's Key. The Treasury key is also hidden, though it can be found by the stables, buried. This all happens inside the castle, and we start on the outside of it, and to find the key to enter the castle, we require to find the Potion of Transmutation, which is made with Dust of Bones. That said, let's try this tech. If you only want general directions of what to do, just check this out. This is all you have to do to finish Blackmarsh: STEP ONE: Find the Bones of Loric, at Blackmarsh. STEP TWO: Find the Mill Key, located at Barbican. STEP THREE: Crush the Bones, at the Mill. STEP FOUR: Create the Potion, at the Wizard's Lab. STEP FIVE: Find the Mythril Wall, and find the Castle Key at Barbican. STEP SIX: Find the Tailor Key, located at the Forbidden Chapel. STEP SEVEN: Find the Treasury Key, located on the Stables. STEP EIGHT: Find the Scroll of Disrupt Magic, on the King's Court. STEP NINE: Find the Amulet of Huner, located on the Palace. STEP TEN: Create the Lens of Seeing, finding the Sand and turning it into Glass on the Stables, and finding the secret room on the fireplace on the King's Court. STEP ELEVEN: Obtain the power to destroy the Crystal Golem. STEP TWELVE: Well, destroy the thing. STEP THIRTEEN: Scary, isn't it? KILL FAMINE! 9.1.4.- WALKTHROUGH: 9.1.4.1.- Finding the Bones of Loric. As you start, admire the scenery. Done? Not yet? Okay, go back and go up the stairs. Deal with whatever's there, and find a button on the right wall. It will open an secret door in front of it, and you should go down there, and hit the switch. Go into the white teleporter back to the start. Go forth, and you will reach a room with a box in the middle. Find the button in one of the pillars, which will move the box. below the box is a floorplate: Step on it and follow the newly opened door. You will reach a nice open area with your second weapon (yay!), and two ways. You should go left, where you will eventually hit a wooden bridge. Drop down and push the switch, to reveal a teleporter. NOTE: Don't go further yet past the bridge. A very nasty Skull Wizard is lying there. As you go through the teleporter, you will be taken to an area with many Archers. Go forward, and you will reach a wheel. Pull the lever to make it work, push the switch to open the bars, and follow the way. There is an Skull Wizard around, kill him and find the spectacular showing off for Loric's Remains. The guy has got to be quite cool, to have a tomb that explodes upon explored. Collect the bones, and drop down to the pool. There are two teleporters: one will take you to the area where the Very Nasty Skull Wizard (tm) is, and the other will drop you near the white teleporter. Either way, your destination is Barbican. 9.1.4.2.- The Mill Key. In order to make good use of Loric's remains, we need to, um, grind them to dust. So much for being cool. The deal is that, versed in medieval culture as we are, we need a mill to grind them (GENERAL ELECTRICS or LG weren't well known by then) and the local Mill is locked. That leaves us, not only very pissed off, but also in need of a key. It's located on Barbican. In order to reach it, you need to go to the area where the Very Nasty Skull Wizard (c) is. Okay, I really wanted you all to avoid dealing with this sorcerer, but sorry. Once in Barbican, you will see one of those scenes that make games great. See that catapult? Approach it. And let the sheeps fly. Jump on it, look down and hit the thing to let yourself fly. NOTE: You can reach the Glyphs of the Ancients by pressing back while you're directly over the wall. Go forward, and, after enjoying the door thrown on your face (not literally, drop down to the water, and break the bars you find. At the corner, turn left and go up, you will find a breakable wall which will lead you inside the castle. As you approach the door, move quickly: There is a strangely intelligent ballista aiming at you all the time. Deal with the Archers and turn left. When you reach the armory, find the switch behind the jars, and follow the way to a ballista. Step on the floorplate to activate it, shoot da foo' that opposes you, and then shoot the tower. I'm not exactly sure where you have to aim. I think it's at the banner. Either way, once destroyed, jump there to the white teleporter to be transported to a nearby ledge, and you will get the Mill Key. Yay! 9.1.4.3.- The Dust. Ever heard Blind Guardian? For some reason, the song "Bright Eyes" comes to mind whenever I think "Well, now let's go get the blasted dust". Don't know why, and I don't really know why am I putting this here. Might be the effort to keep being funny. (Is it working?) Go back to Blackmarsh. Now, go to the right part where the first sheep was. There you will find the door leading to the Mill. In there, follow the road until you see the two teleporters. Take the left one, where you will be able to see the Mill, which is directly in front of you. Go by the wooden planks, and enter the mill. Approach the "clockwerk" and you will receive a message about the dust crushing nicely (eww). Go outside, and the dust is floating in front of the mill. Don't forget the Mystic Urn on the top floor. NOTE: I can remember reading PC GAMES review of Hexen II, where the reviewer wrote about how he was baffled that he "couldn't find the bones in the inventory". You can understand why I rarely buy gaming magazines now. You can press tab to see them, in case you didn't knew. Now, with the dust at hand, go back to Blackmarsh. 9.1.4.4.- The Potion of Mythril Transmutation Go to the Wizard's lab. Drop into the pool. Grab the Potion. 9.1.4.5.- Figuring out what to do with the Potion. This part is fairly obscure about what's there to do. Bassically, there is a Mythril wall in Barbican, though that's all we're told. Go to Barbican. Now, find the room that leads to the secret ballista, but don't go there. Instead take the door. Grab the Tome of Power, and drop down in the whole, and follow the door. In there you will find a few enemies, more notably the sole Archer Lord in Blackmarsh and a Skull Wizard (GTFO). In the room with the Skull Wizard is a secret door accessable destroying the furniture to the corner and pressing the floorplate. In there, you can find the Bracers. Go to the window, and approach it to open it. Drop down into the moat, and find the funny looking wall. That's the Mythril Wall. Once transmuted, break it down, and grab the Castle Key. 9.1.4.6.- Reaching the King's Court. We're never going back to Barbican. Seriously. We've left that part of our lives behind. Go into the castle again, and find the door which is on the top end of a slope. That's the door to King's Court. Open it and reach it. 9.1.4.7.- The Treasury Key. Our first task at the King's Court is to find the Treasury King. The problem is, this key seems to be glitched. Let us first talk about how are you supposed to get it. (On the way, note the white barrier in front of a door. We'll deal with it later.) Nearby the Butcher's shop, take the left road and you will reach the doorway to the Stables. Enter. Enter the stables properly, and follow the way to the big wooden door to the right. Enter and smash everything in there. Here's the deal: Behind some hay stacks, there is a skinless dead body which has a note about the key being buried... But sometimes the note isn't there! And this would mean the trigger that spawns the Treasury key will not be activated, and as such, the key's not available. This seems to happen when you get the Tailor's Key before trying to get the Treasury Key, but it will also happen just randomly. Well, if you DO find the note, go up the ladder nearby the entrance to the hay room. There, find the door that leads to a series of planks. Go all the way up, and monkey around the wooden beams, until you find a switch. Pull it, and drop down to the second level, where a door containing a Golem will be revealed. Inside, you can collect the Shovel. With it, drop down again, and follow the other way after the wooden door. It will lead you to the forge. Walk around the tree in there, and the Treasury Key should pop off the ground. *SHOULD* If it doesn't, you will have to bite the bullet and cheat. Sorry. 9.1.4.8.- The Tailor's Key. Go back to the King's Court. Find the door to the Inner Courtyard, and enter it. As you enter, you will see a guillotine. For a bit of sadistic pleasure, climb up it and throw the switch, and watch how a guillotine wasn't, as historic records falsely say, used to behead people. It was, indeed, used to make corpses explode, allowing to apparently dispose of them easily, or to make Hot Dogs. The middle times were so cool. After you get rid of that creepy grin, look behind at the stained glass, and shoot it to destroy it, jump there, and find the wall that can be pushed. Push it (dadadarara), and you will find entrance to the Forgotten Chapel. Whee. Find the door that's openable (is that a word?) and go through to find an altar. Watch the wall, and you will notice a trio of steps. Climb them and push the wall, which will activate the Altar, which will move revealing a secret passage. Drop down, and you will find yourself in the middle of a spider den, and guessing, I guess you will find bananas. Six legged bananas that bite back, but bananas nonetheless. Find the webbed corpse (which will be elegantly pointed by the game), and smash it. It isn't like you got any respect for the dead. I know you sliced that dead body. Turn around and watch what your indulgence has given you: The Tailor's Key. One of Hexen II's charming life's lessons. You will get a lot by smashing dead bodies, even if it's a lot of blood and viscerae in your neat clothes. 9.1.4.9.- The Disrupt Magic Scroll. Get ready for a lot of running around, as you will find. Go back to the King's Court. Find the Tailor's shop, which has a needle and a piece of string as a sign (That could also be an ELECTRONICS BOUTIQUE), and enter it. Go to the second floor, where a funny looking block is on the corner. Approach it, and, provided you've got the Tailor's Key, it will open. Whee! A couple of mana! Uh... what a crock... Wait, smash the back of the closet... WEE!! A PIECE OF PAPER!! Grab the piece of paper (which turns out to be the Disrupt Magic Scroll we were looking for), and go back to the entrance of the King's Court. 9.1.4.10.- The Amulet of Hunger. With the Disrupt Magic Scroll, you can at last cross that annoying white barrier I told you about before. It will be dispelled. Enter it, and you will be able to tour around The Palace. Go straight, past the bedroom, and until the yard with the fountain. Find the doorway to the right, and following it, you will find the barred Treasury Room. Now, if you have the Treasury Key, it will open, otherwise, bring down the console and type "NOCLIP", and just go through the bars. Inside, you will find the Amulet of Hunger, and a few other items on the boxes. Turn off the NOCLIP stuff, and go into the teleport, and go back to the King's Court. 9.1.4.11.- Creating the Lens of Seeing. 9.1.4.11.1.- Check the Way! Now, clues are pretty cryptic here as well, but with an Amulet of Hunger (Which, ironically, reminds me that I hadn't eaten anything all day and I've been awake since 9:00 AM and it's nearly 14:00), we're up to find something about being hungry. Find "THE SHOPPE", which sounds suspicious enough to merit a tour. (For the record, there are two shops that you don't even need to visit). Enter and reach the second floor, where a bed suspiciously lies. Shoot the suspicious chest, and the suspicious wall, to reveal a secret room. This is the suspicious room of the Brotherhood of Hunger, which contains a suspicious clue about your search starting by the suspicious fireplace of the Stables. See? Contrary to what my mother and psychoanalist told me, being paranoid does have its uses. 9.1.4.11.2.- Finding the sand. Go to the stables, contrary to what your instincts say. Two notes, not related to the game, but somehow got into my head: NOTE #1: My mother, who's a walking library, correctly guessed the location of the stables when I asked her where would the stables be. With a little bit of liberty taken, the stables are located exactly where they should be: In the back of the castle, and far away from the king's rooms. Go figure. NOTE #2: The girl-i-like has an obsession about horses (She has in fact won a few competitions), but complained about how the stables looked nothing like the stables at her country house. I pointed how the game's mechanics are a bit antique (we needed a freaking mill to make some dust), but she then got pissed. Why, dunno. BONUS NOTE REGARDING BONE DUST: On his official biography, THE LONG HARD ROAD OUT OF HELL, Marilyn Manson mentions how he once smoked chipped bones. Yeah, *WTF* is a normal thought going through your head right now. Go to the forge, and to the second floor. Hit the switch there. It will eventually lead you to the Stables Key. With it, go back where you found the (probably useless) Shovel, and head up one floor by the ramp. Find the door, which will open, and will show you a box and a large rug. Smash it to reveal a trapdoor. NOTE: Watch out, as the Trapdoor is very likely to crush you, should you be stupid enough to stand on its way. Follow the way until you reach the back of the stables. In there, find the switch and collect the sand on the trough*. With it, go back to the forge. *English is not my primary language, so I don't know if the name's right. It's the thing where people put water for horses. 9.1.4.11.3.- Turning the Sand into Glass. If you didn't know, Glass is ussually made out of sand. Like most minerals (All of them if I'm not wrong), when heated, Sand will turn liquid, and it can be then crafted. With the Sand, go to the Forge and approach it. The Glass will be created for you to pick up, so do it. 9.1.4.11.4.- Creating, at last, the Lens of Seeing. Since no guide I've ever read (Not even PC GAMER's, being such a prestigious magazine) mentions the shop where you create the Lens, I'll make a mention here: The Shop doesn't has any signs. (Actually, I *think* it doesn't) The point is that the shop you're looking for has a fireplace that has no fire on it. As you approach, the game will point out the unusualy ocurrance. Crouch inside, and climb up using the little steps in there. There will be a weird grindstone. Approach it, and the Lens of Seeing will appear floating eerie as ussualy. Pick them up! 9.1.4.12.- Dealing with the Glass Golem. If you go right up and face the Glass Golem, you will notice it won't be pretty. The Glass Golem is still invulnerable. But there is a way to obtain power to deal with it. Go to the Guillotine, and turn right to the hall. Follow the hall till you meet a catwalk and go left through a bunch of Archers. Cross the teleporter, which will lead you to a crystal arch, and going through it will make you strong enough to kill the Golem. Now, go back and find the death store (Well, the place where the person who makes tombstones works), and go to the second floor and find the switch to continue. It will get you below the guillotine. Find the teleporter, and it will take you to the Glass Golem lair. He's not much different from regular golems except it's a lot tougher. Kill him, and now, you're ready to face Famine. Just go to the hall and reach the DoOm-esque portal. 9.1.5.- Blackmarsh Final Boss: FAMINE, FIRST RIDER OF APOCALYPSE. Blackmarsh last boss is Famine, the one who will cause the hunger, at least according to the christian bible. His appearance is remarkably similar to EDDIE, IRON MAIDEN'S mascot, for he is a really skinny guy with long white hair, though he sports a landing spot for fleas on his forehead. His horse is equally well fed as the rider, meaning the thing resembles a brown Bulgarian Herder rather than a horse. Famine will throw out two different kind of projectile: a three way attack, and a heat-seeking attack. Furthermore, if he catches you nearby, he will throw out a powerful red laser which deals a lot of damage. Otherwise, he will run around and teleport ocasionally. Keep a tome of power up at all times, and use your second weapon. While his attacks are very damaging, and he's kinda frustrating to hit as he will teleport, he is really easy. Beat him to finish the hub. ____________________________________ 9.2.- | | | MAZAERA - SEEKING DEATH [HUB_MAZA] | |____________________________________| 9.2.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT MAZAERA: - SCORPIONS: While I've never been to any desert (Even though I have traveled quite a bit), I'm sure regular scorpions aren't THIS big. They are pretty much like spiders, except that they DO evade hits rather easily. Scorpions come at you, and try to hit you with their pincers and their stings. Despite the simpleness of their attacks, they are pretty goddamn damaging and quite resistant for an insect, and they are as hard to hit as spiders. Just deal with 'em the same way. Assassin Approach: The Assassin, with her speed, makes her a great candidate to deal with them with the Katar. If you have problems, you might as well just use the Crossbow or Grenades, though it isn't really needed. Crusader Approach: When facing scorpions, I realized the Crusader to be a wimp. Seriously, the Warhammer is too slow to hit them, and the guy himself is a slug. Use your Ice Mace. Necromancer Approach: Like the crusader, you're too slow and weak. Poor bastard gets shafted against the weakest enemies of the game. Magic Missiles. Paladin Approach: Hah! A ninja needs no weapons! Neither does a Paladin. - BLACK SCORPIONS: Version 2.0 of the previous scorpions, Black Scorpions are exactly the same, except a lot tougher and a lot bigger. And, c'mon, black looks cooler. General Approach: About the same. Use the same tactics as with regular scorpions. Seriously, this update is meaningless. - WERE-JAGUARS: Ah yes, the guys who seem like the strayed too far from the local mexican wrestling ring. Were Jaguars are fast, resistant and ultimately, one of the pains in the ass from Mazaera. Were-Jaguars can come at you and slice you with their serrated swords, charge at you with their shields, and evade shoots very easily. Furthermore, sometimes they will look at the sky and growl. Whatever for, I have no idea, but they seem to be invulnerable at the time. They can even reflect shoots with their shields. An advice: don't try to fight two at the same time. General approach (more like a cheap tactic): The Were-Jaguars' AI has one fatal flaw: they will not turn back from a fight. A such, if you can lure them into a narrow corridor that wouldn't allow them to strafe to the sides, the only way they have to dodge shoots is by ducking. You can shoot away at their legs and they are sitting ducks. Assassin Approach: Use your Crossbow. While your speed match theirs, their attack are far too damaging, and your sexy ass is likely to be sent down to Hell in no time should you ever engage the stupid challenge to hit them with your Katar. And Grenades are far too difficult to hit them. Crusader Approach: The Ice Mace will prove useful until you get the Meteor Shaft, weapon which will make fun of the Were-kind like it was going out of style. Necromancer Approach: Y'know, like... RUN LIKE HELL! The Necromancer is toasted! Use your long range attack, and, Y'know..... RUN LIKE HELL! Paladin Approach: I personally used the Vorpal Sword and it seemed enough because this guy is a tank, but you might be out of luck (and I was constantly out of mana anyway). - WERE-PANTHERS: Ah, yes, the guys who strayed too far from the local mexican wrestling ring and... dunno... Went to the beach? Fell asleep on the sand? Painted themselves blue? Like the song? I'm blue daboodedaboodaaa? Seriously, the Were-panthers are about the same in terms of behaviour and attacks (They tend to jump a lot more, though, I think), but are noticeably tougher. They ask for a lot of attention, though, as their abnormal endurance is quite the hassle to deal with (Particulary with the Necromancer). General Approach: Much like the Were-Panthers, they are very brave. Okay, stupid. Lure them into a narrow corridor, and that's it. Otherwise, you're in one helluva bitchin' rumble. Try to use the environment to your advantage, and it will be the best asset you can try against these very tough (and surprinsingly common) beasts. - ALSO STARRING: Skull Mages, Imps, Regular Golems, Knight Archers, and Hydras. You should be seasoned into hunting and understanding their need to die by now. Refer to the section 9.1.1 for info. - MID-BOSS: None, though some will argue the whole frigging hub is a mid-boss, given the grudgingly nature of it. - FINAL BOSS: DEATH, Second Apocalypse Rider. 9.2.2.- MAZAERA: Where the Aztecs Meet Super Mario Bros. Mazaera is a really cool looking mezo-american world, full of bright and organic feeling textures. Aside from the fact there are guys with cat's heads running around, this is, in my opinion, the most realistic looking and better thought hub That said, Mazaera is the one hub concentrated on fighting. The puzzles are easy and flow into one another, but the battles can get out of hand, and some fights (Particulary when multiple Were -Jaguars are engaged) take quite a lot of time and are very frustrating. That and the Trial of Fire. Freaking lava. 9.2.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF MAZAERA OBJECTIVES: The general objective is to find the four elements, that is fire, water, air and earth, and take 'em to the Bridge of the Stars. That will open the way to Death's lair. To get those, though, you require to open the ways to each element, which means getting a few critical items, the Ornamental key, the Crystal and Jade Skull and the Serpent's Heart. And that's it. This hub is mainly focused on battling around those mexican wrestlers, and it's really hard to get by. Either way, here's a rough sketch of what we need to do to get out alive: STEP ONE: Staying alive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, staying aliiiiive. STEP TWO: Find the Ornamental Key.* STEP THREE: Prove your worth on the TEST OF FIRE, and get the Element of Fire. STEP FOUR: Get the Jade Skull. STEP FIVE: Prove your worth on the TEST OF WATER. And get the Element of Water. STEP SIX: Find the Serpent's Heart. STEP SEVEN: Find the Crystal Skull. STEP EIGHT: Prove your worth on the TEST OF EARTH, and get the Element of Earth. STEP NINE: Prove your worth on the TEST OF AIR, and get the Element of Air. STEP TEN: Get the four elements to the Bridge of Stars. STEP ELEVEN: Kill Death. As oxymoronic as it sounds. *Being called an ORNAMENTAL key, wouldn't be its main purpose to serve as an ORNAMENT? It shouldn't really have a function. Wait, I know now, it's all clear. Those Mayans were so clever. If you call it an ORNAMENTAL KEY, pirates, thieves and Vikings would come and say "Psst, that's just an ornament" and pass by, therefore not touching the mayans' treasures and stuff. For all the gods, that's intelligence. If only they had a calendar that went on after the 2012, I bet the Mayans would rule the world. 9.2.4.- WALKTHROUGH: 9.2.4.1.- Finding The Ornamental Key. You can't really do much in the Plaza of the Sun before finding that key. Now, get used to this, all that mess that you hear are enemies lurking around, since, as I said before, this hub will be fighting all around. After dealing with the scorpions, go to the left passageway, and kill the Golem, and press the switch. Now go the opposite direction and throw the switch in order to raise the bridge. Go into that building. Inside you will find the not-so lovely surprise of the Were-Jaguars. Deal with them using a ranged weapon, and go forth (ignore the doors, as you need the Ornamental key to unlock them), where you will find... a Were-Panther. Get the armor on the altar, and it will reveal... two Archers. Go up the stairs and get your third weapon (Yay!), and... face the Were-Panther. Bingo! To the left is a Tome of POwer, and to the right is the entrance to the Obelisk of the Moon. Enter. NOTE: On the way, there is a Mystic Urn high up on a plataform. I've got no clue how to get it, but I collected with via the Rocket Jump with the HellShaft. Once in the obelisk of the moon, follow the leftmost corridor and you will meet a hall with two Scorpions and a single Were-Jaguar. Once you deal with 'em, step on the two floor plates, which will open three gates. Go back to the entrance of the obelisk room and aim yourself at the left gate. Following that corridor, you will find the hall which I like to call "The Burning Bridges", with a long bridge above a lava pool, with the key we need placed on the other end. While you can, as a matter of facts, run accross the bridge, it will begin to break as you go through it, making such a task ridiculously difficult. Instead, you take a look down when standing on the ledge. Drop down, go into da teleporta', and you will appear just in front of the key, which I would tell you to grab. We have not come here for a walk. 9.2.4.2.- The four tests. The Main objective, as we outlined above, is to obtain the four elements in order to access the Bridge of the Stars. These elements contain some kind of test (save earth) to pass before they let us steal them. Let's go with the first one. 9.2.4.3.- Fight Fire with Fire: The Test of Fire. Now, we've come to the general frustration of the people who bought the game looking for the RPG part. Go back to the Plaza of the Sun, and go into the first room inside the Altar. There you will find two locked doors, take the one to the left. You will come to a god-damn-annoying-jumping-puzzles I've come to hate ever since I played American Mcgee's Alice. You will as well. The point of this thing is to jump around the plataforms to reach the three switches. Once all three are pushed, the plataforms will stop, the way to the center will be revealed, and you will be able to steal the Element of Fire. 9.2.4.4.- Getting the Jade Skull. Da Nazi's on da house, j00. Bring it on. Wait, it's a *Jade* Skull, not a Crystal one. Bah. So much for da funk. Anyway, this one's easy (if the enemies weren't there, life would be so damn pretty). Right after you get the Element of Fire, there is an elevator just in front of your nose, which leads you to the gate to the Court of the 1000 Warriors- There is another way in, but it'd be more work. The Court is bassically an open combat royal rumble against three Were-Jaguars and a Panther, so stay on your toes. There are a few items around, including an Icon of Defender. Follow the way and you will reach out the outside. On the top of the structure is a switch which will reveal an oh-so-cool Stone of Summoning (ARGH), and open a door. Follow it downstairs, and you will reach a big hall with a Golem and another Were-Jaguar. Once dealt with, find the open way down, which will lead you to a bridge, which is in very poor conditions. You can reach the other side of the bridge to grab a lot of items, but it's notably difficult. Either way, it's easier to drop down and find the passageway. Turn right when you can, and you will find a pool. Find and press the switch, go down and you will find the Jade skull alongside another switch. Grab it and the switch will have opened a small hole for you to escape easily. Now, go back to the Plaza of the Sun. We have a lot more to do. 9.2.4.5.- The Call of Chtutlu: The Element of Water. The Element of Water is located in the Square of Stream, which is the other door we didn't enter at the Plaza of the Sun. There is an advertisement for some kind of bottle water along the way, anouncing that those who descrate the stream of something will be killed. Heed that call and jump over the stream, or a mighty block of death will make fun of your body. And Mince Meat. Anyway, go for the door, and you will reach the Square of the Stream. There is a lot to do here, but first things first, get the Element. Go through the right passage, and you will eventually hit a well. Go down there, and make your way through the Maze, which isn't really difficult (I will add a map if someone needs it), and get the Element. 9.2.4.6.- Finding the Serpent's Heart. There was a barred passageway on the start of the Square, which now it's free to enter. Woo. If entering the Area 51 would mean taking a trip on some creepy sewer... well, not many people would have found it already anyway. As ussual with this Hub, there are plenty of foes for you to dismember and disembowel. Or maybe the other way around, it doesn't matter. You need to follow the way, get down, find the pool, go all the way around to the other side of the pool, and step on the floorplate. It will raise the Serpent's Heart for you. 9.2.4.7.- The Crystal Skull. Crystal? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! *Lord Zero looks over his shoulder* Shit. My dog just left me a "message" on my room. Oh well. *Cleans the mess* Anyway, the Crystal Skull is just at hand. With the Serpent's Heart, go to the center stairway on the entrance of the Square. Put the Heart on the Altar after dealing with al the enemies, and you will be given the Crystal Skull. It will also release two Skull Mages outside, so be careful on the way out. 9.2.4.8.- Enter Sandman: The Element of Earth. While playing, I just kinda stumbled into the solution of getting the Element of Earth. You need to reach the Palace of Colums, which is only accessable when you have both Skulls. Go back to the Obelisk of the Moon, and place the two Skulls on each of the altars around the obelisk. It will open the way to the Palace of Colums. The Palace is, for some reason, incredibly creepy. From the start, let's get the Element of Earth since it's easier. Go forward, at the fork go right, and down the stairs. It will get you to a wide outdoor area with a pyramid, another door, and a bunch of enemies. There is a message about a dude taking the element of Air with him to the other side. Ah, a Joke: Why did the Cow cross the road? To get to udder side. Haha. Anyway, the pyramid has a really badly lit entryway on the side. Find it, and you will hit upon another way into the Court of the 1000 Warriors. Getting here early would mean bringing down the console and typing "noclip", which was too much work, if you were wondering. Enter. There are a few Were-Jaguars around, so be really careful. Drop down, and find the entryway, were you will be asked to prove your worth. Again. Damn. The test involves getting to the other side of the crushing thingies in one piece. It's not that difficult (just kinda press against the things to cross quickly when you have an opening), and at the end, grab the Element of Earth. IT should stop the mechanisms, but for some reason during this playthrough over which I'm writing the Walkthrough, it didn't, so I had to brave it over the thing again. There is a lift at the midway of the mecanism which will lead you back into the Palace of Colums. 9.2.4.9.- The Memory Remains: The Element of Air. The last element was taken by some wayward bastard to his grave. Once on the Palace of Colums, find the entryway in front of the pyramid. This corridor has two exits: one upwards, and one downwards. Take the latter, and press the siwtch to put a bridge. Cross it and press the other switch. If your reflexes allow you, and you're playing with the Assassin, and Boots of Speed... wtf, just get to the other exit, the one which goes up. You will find the entrance to the Tomb of the Unknown Bast... eh, sure King. As you enter, you will be attacked by two Were-Jaguars and like four Archers, so watch out! The Second Piece of your fourth weapon is there, which is ironic as you don't have the first yet. Find the stairs going down (there is a set of stairs going up which might led you to a Seal of the Ovinomancer and a showdow against a Were-Panther on *very* close quarters, but I'll leave up to the challenge of finding it), and you will reach a Skull Wizard doing I-don't-want-to-know-what with a Tome of Power. (Hah, that's a PLAYBOY!) Go further down. You will reach a set of green stairs which are signaled by a Black Scorpion. Hit the wall to find them. Go down, and move quickly, for the walls will spontaneously move to crush you if you're slow. You will reach the tomb itself. Take a leisure time and explore the Tomb and its secrets, and find the last element, The Element of Air. Yay. 9.2.4.10.- Seeking Death: The Bridge of the Stars. The entrance to the Bridge of the Stars is located in the Obelisk of the Moon, so get your ass there. It near the entrance, on a semi-hidden passage. The Bridge of the Star is one of the coolest things I've seen on the game. The entrance is damn cool. Watch out though, yes, that is the first (¿?) piece of your first weapon, but a couple Archers are above your entry point, and will shoot the living hell out of you if you don't take 'em out (or run away fast enough). Follow either road, and you will reach the final area. The deal is to put each element on each altar-thingie. Put the first on the middle of the bridge you see, and look for the opening. It has a transporter which will take you to the top bridge. Put each element dropping down each time and you will receive a message about facing death. Drop down and go to the transporter room, where a small stairway will be revealed. Go down, and after a few fireworks, the way to face Death will be revealed. 9.2.5.- Mazaera Final Boss: DEATH, SECOND RIDER OF APOCALYPSE. Mazaera's Final Boss is just like the Grim Reaper we all know and... Love? Dread? Fear? Hate? Either way, he's riding a horse. Beating Death is a given, of course, if you know how to fly. Death will fly around attacking you. It's a damn annoyance to chase him around, but it's the best way to deal with him, since he's mighty tough to hit otherwise. In the middle of the battlefield is a trapdoor of sorts which will open up when you get near. Don't try to enter it, it's an instant kill for some reason. It will also open a big door around which has plenty of goodies for you to pillage. Keep hitting and chasing Death, and eventually he will die in a bright white flash. Who will collect Death, though? Isn't the responsible... just dead? Oh well. Not my problem. ____________________________________________ 9.3.- | | | THYSIS - THE TIME OF PESTILENCE [HUB_THYS] | |____________________________________________| 9.3.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT THYSIS: - MUMMIES: Ah, the mummy. Monthy Python attacks Hexen. The Mummies are the only new enemy at Thysis. They are also ranking high up on the ridiculousness rating of enemies in FPS (Dunno if the Pacman Ghosts in Wolf3d are still the undispited kings). They are a bunch of really annoying skinny guys with jackal heads and a rod. They attack either by sending energy lights at your sorry ass, or hitting you with their rods. If you're far enough, they will send a line of fire, which deals a lot of damage, but it's easier to avoid. Mummies take a lot of damage before starting to die, and I mean it, as they take damage, they will begin to fall apart. They won't stop fighting until everything's gone, and I really would recommend staying the hell away of the bites. Assassin Approach: Grenades all the damn way. They are slow as hell and it's really funny to watch them try to get away from them. Crusader Approach: Meteor Shaft. No point in dealing with 'em for long when Scorpions are on your tail. Necromancer Approach: I'm tempted to use the Magic Missiles only because you save mana. That said, pairs of mummies aren't funny to face with your puny missiles, so Bone Shards with 'em. Paladin Approach: Axe. Take it out. Chop 'em to bits. - STONE GOLEMS: Another kind of golem to sour your life. Stone Golems Are, yet again, bassically the same as regular golems, except they are smaller, tougher, and have a red gem on their forehead. Bling Bling aside, they can shoot a red thingie at you. That thingie is homing, but really slow. Nonetheless, it's a pain to out-manouver. These thingies kinda dissapear when the golem who shot it dies. Assassin Approach: While it's easy as always to score critical hits against the mindless, that red thingie is damaging as a needle up your lower back, so it is adviced to save yourself the trouble and use grenades. Crusader Approach: Your Ice Mace is perfect to make those nice modeled ice things with them, as long as you stay moving to avoid getting slapped with the red thingie. Necromancer Approach: Bone Shards. Fists hurt. Thingies too. Paladin Approach: Either the Sword or the Axe will do. However, something of note: Don't ever try to get up-close and personal with them. I've found the Paladin somewhat lacking in personal relationships with the thingies. If you haven't noticed, I haven't a clue about those thingies. They are just... thingies? - ALSO STARRING: Ice Imps, Skull Wizards, Scorpions... You know, the usual crew. For the curious, check the previous two hubs for info. - MID BOSS: The Cobra. Unkillable until woken up. - FINAL BOSS: Third Apocalypse Rider: Pestilence. 9.3.2.- THYSIS: Walk like an Egyptian. Thysis is an impressive and really tough hub, arguably the most difficult puzzle-wise part of the game. It will require all of your ingenuity and logic, plus some knowledge of the egiptian culture to success, plus my walkthrough. Of course. Fighitng isn't that important, fortunately. Set in the ancient land of Egipt, Thysis sports some of the most thought out puzzles and architecture, though, as the Quake Engine dictates, it's mostly set up on the underground tombs dedicated to the pharaons. Great flow, and a very interesting climax, Thysis is probably my favorite hub, though the cryptic clues could have been a lot clearer. 9.3.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE OBJECTIVES IN THYSIS. The general objective in Thysis is to find the Lower and Upper Crowns of Egypt, in order to maketh Ra smile upon thee and open up thy way to Pestilence's Lair. However, to reach both of them, we require the four Canopy Jars, since they hold the way to the Lower Crown and the way to manipulate the Sun Dial, which is the key to open up the chamber which holds the Staff of Nefertum, which can open up the now hidden device to manipulate the Wheel of Time, which keeps the Upper Crown. To find the four Canopy Jars, well, we have a lot to do. STEP ONE: Finding the Eye of Hours. STEP TWO: Finding the Key of Anubis. STEP THREE: Finding the Scarab of Time. STEP FOUR: Unlocking the way to the past in the Temple of Nefertum using the Scarab of Time, to reach the Temple of Naos. STEP FIVE: Finding the guardian Key. STEP SIX: Along the way, stumbling on the Rough Cut Gem, because it is nice looking. STEP SEVEN: Finding the first Canopy Jar. Taking a break, since it was rather long to write and do that. We also need to randomly find that the Wheel of Time in the past has to be set pointing to an Hippo. Whatever for, or why the hell, is up to anyone's guess. To be fair, I remember that from reading it on PC GAMER's walkthrough 9 or so years ago. I don't even know if it has any effect in gameplay. STEP EIGHT: Finding the Dark Staff of the Pharaoh. STEP NINE: Cutting the Rough Cut Gem into a Serpent's Eye Gem. STEP TEN: Waking up and promptly killing the Cobra, and recover the second Canopy Jar. STEP ELEVEN: Using the Dark Staff of the Pharaoh to find the third Canopy Jar. STEP TWELVE: Finding the Pharaoh's Key. OPTIONAL STEP: Raiding the Pharaoh's room and destroying the pillars that hold his bed and the bust of Anubis in there, because is fun. STEP THIRTEEN: Find the final Jar. STEP FOURTEEN: Finding the Key of Ra. STEP FIFTEEN: Finding the Lower Crown of Egypt. STEP SIXTEEN: Finding the Staff of Nefertum. STEP SEVENTEEN: Using the Staff of Nefertum to reveal the Upper Crown of Egypt. STEP EIGHTEEN: Kill Famine. Indeed, we have a lot of work to do. Onto the walkthrough. 9.3.4.- WALKTHROUGH 9.3.4.1.- Finding the Eye of Horus. A general note when playing with the Crusader: You will face a lot of Ice Imps on this hub, and the Ice Maze is USELESS against them, forcing you to waste ungodly ammounts of mana to kill them. Do something more productive. And the Necromancer should take some time to take a good tan in there. Anyway, enter the pyramid, and go left. Follow the way until you reach a place with an Obelisks. You will be clued all around about some Eye of Horus. Why do gods leave things so important just lying around? Behind the obelisk, is a door. Follow it and you will see an small pyramid. There is a switch to the right of the building, jump and press it, and a door to the pyramid will appear. There is a very annoying cobra in there which shoots fireballs, so quickly go inside and press to the wall to the right. In there, the Eye of Horus lies. Press the Switch inside to shut the damn cobra off, too. 9.3.4.2.- Finding the Key of Anubis. This item is located inside the same pyramid, so there is no reason whatsoever to miss it right now, plus you can get some mana and an item. Go forth through the newly opened door inside the pyramid, and follow all the way until you see a red bridge. In there, look down and hop to the bridge below: There are some combined mana to highlight the way. Down there, look back and you will notice a damaged wall. Hit it to destroy it, and find a pretty creepy place with some corpses, a few black scorpions, and the Key of Anubis. Go outside, jump down, and go to the blue teleporter. Now go back to the same red bridge, and open the door. In there you will find an important message, now go into the teleporter, and jump in there. Remember this clock related door. It will be important about two or three hours from now. 9.3.4.3.- Figuring out what to do. Picking up the item, jump down and follow the new way. It will lead you to the Bust of Anubis, which for some reason is the place to put the Eye of Horus. It will open a way to a room with three Red Teleporters: To the Right, is the Palace of the Pharaon. To the Left, is the Temple of Nefertum. And just in front of you, is the Pyramid of Anubis. If you venture into the Temple of Nefertum, you will notice that it's in rather poor shape. It's also full of archers, which is annoying. You will also find out that your killing spree was completely useless, since you need the Scarab of Time that Ra lost (damn them the lose-it-all gods)... Since I don't really want to make up any other poor jokes, I'll let you know that the Palace of the Pharaon holds the Scarab. And it's helluva difficult to find, so please make sure to follow my guide. 9.3.4.4.- Finding the Scarab of Time. Go to the Palace of the Pharaon. As you enter, there are two water tubes. If you look closely, there is a switch next to the right one. Press it, and it will open up the upper tube. Go in there, and you will fall into a pool of sorts. There is a chest in there with the Scarab of Time. Go back to the Temple of Horus, and pray no other god keeps losing stuff while going to the bathroom. 9.3.4.5.- Making good use of the Scarab of Time. With the Scarab of Time in our possession, we can know go to the Temple of Nefertum, to explore further. Go there. The temple is destroyed and there is a very linear walk until a blue teleporter. In there, you will reach a place we'll call the Wheel of Time. Put the Scarab of time in the place where a message is (informing you that it's a wonder Ra hasn't lost an eye), and a new telepoter will be revealed, to the Ancient Temple of Nefertum. That is, 1000 years before. 9.3.4.6.- Ol'School Temple of Nefertum. The Temple of Nefertum looked a lot better a thousand years before, but it's bassically the same, except that there are mummies where there were archers, which means a world of pain a a general lack of mana. There are also many black scorpions, which is monumentally more annoying. While you run around the way, you will hear the "whosh" of an imp. Remember this as wel will come back in a moment. As you reach the place with the blue teleporter, there is an accessible hallway to a big door which requires the Guardian Key. Take note of this door and go back to the place with the "whosh" sound. There is a breakeable. wall in there. Carefully, smash the hell out of it. Kill the imp, and drop down. There are four snakes in there, remember them, and go forth, and press the switch to see the big door open up. (wtf)More importantly, there is a Jar in there, which is one of our four main objectives in this hub. Go back to the four snakes, and notice the new hallway to a teleporter, to the Shrine of PICS.NAO. I mean, Naos. 9.3.4.7.- The Shrine of Naos. As you enter, go punk on all the vases. One of them reveals a button. Step on it, and the door will open (watch out for the mummy). Go forth, up the ramps, and into the blue teleporter. I've got no idea of who Naos was, but he was a fan of cryptic mazes. (BTW: take note of the writing in the wall in this mini-level. One of those shows something rougly like this: (Three Matrices of 3x3) X O O O O X O X O O X O O O X X O O O O X O X O X O O This is important) Drop down and go between the legs of the statue (eww). You will come to a place with a suspicious block in the middle. There is a hidden button between the walls. It looks quite visible in the GL version, but if you're playing regular, just kinda press against the walls until you find it. Works just as well. Follow the road, and you will end up in the crotch of the statue (double eww). Voila, we've got ourselves a Guardian Key. (As a side note, you can't simply run and jump into the eww statue from the ledge with the Boots. The game won't allow it. Obviously, Quake's glaring holes in level design were taken into account.) Go back to the Temple of Nefertum. 9.3.4.8.- The First Canopic Jar. Finally. Crafty Egiptyan gods. We already know where the Canopic Jar is (more or less), though finding the way is a bit complicated. The trick is that there is a hidden door just where we fall and before the snakes. Go there and press the wall to open it, and open the previously mentioned door with the Guardian Key. In the way, you need to go over a sarcofagus that triggers a trap, so make sure to be swift. You also will need to push the button below the laser to open the way to... Wait a second. First, once again, apprach the Sarcophagus to find the Rough Cut Gem. This item is really easy to miss. Back to your scheduled torture... Lo and behold, welcome to the most frustrating puzzle in HEXEN II. X O O O O X O X O O X O O O X X O O O O X O X O X O O Remember those? One of these is a solution of this puzzle. You've got to step on one of those patterns in the green things in the floor to reach the Jar. One of these is choosen at random, and if you fail, you threw back to the entrance of the pyramid. Problem is, it seems to randomize itself each time you try. You can try each one, you can try the same one three times by rules of stats, you can swear, cry, whatever. I've only gotten this thing to work once of about ten times I've solved HEXEN II, and yes, it was beyond annoying. You can always cheat, but what's the point? (Well, yeah, yeah, I CHEATED. I *don't* have the time to spend half an hour running like an idiot here, you know? BITE ME!) Once you finally get through, however you did, get the Jar. And we have the first Canopic Jar, The Imsethy one. No wonder is so difficult to solve. That name alone is another puzzle. 9.3.4.9.- The Dark Staff of the Pharaon Before we leave this place for good, it helps to go to the Wheel of time and put the thing in the Constelation of a Hippopotamus pressing the switch. I don't know why the hell, but that's how it works. Perhaps, while writing this walkthrough, I will find out. Shoot the beetle (where we put the Scarab in the present) to open up a way to our Destroyed Temple of Nefertum. From there, go to the Pyramid of Anubis. This place is beyond frustrating. We'll go the easy way. Go forth until you are presented with a ramp which leads to a door. Do go there, instead, jump in the pilars to reach the Krater of Might. It will reveal a way to a room with a red Carpet with an Icon of the Defender. Do try to grab it, kill the Mummies and go all the way around to find the marked wall with the bloody hand and inside hit the switch and reveal the Scepter. To get the Icon, equip the boots, and don't activate them yet. Just kinda step on the edge of the carpet, which will reveal a craft, and might kill you outright if you manage to fall into a spike. And getting out is a chore. Activate the boots, and run and jump to get the item. Now, go back to the beggining. 9.3.4.10 The Serpent's Eye Gem. Now, go down the ramp, and turn left. Approach the bars, and you will find another room with four snakes. There is a mummy behind the red thing, which is where you will put the Rough Cut Gem. Now, press the four buttons to transform it into the Serpent's Eye Gem. 9.3.4.11.- Defeating the Mid-Boss: The Cobra. To activate this showdow, you need to place the Serpent's Eye Gem in front of the Cobra itself. It is located nearby. Just get out of the cutting room, and turn left. Follow the road, kill the mummies, and put the thing in the pedestal. Now, approach the Cobra to activate it. And get away. The Cobra doesn't has a lot of hit points, but hits for a lot of damage and is difficult to avoid its attacks. Fortunately, it doesn't moves, so you can hide and shoot it with your fourth weapon with a tome activated without much problem. 9.3.4.12.- Collecting the Second (not happy) Canopic Jar. Cross the bridge where the Cobra was and collect the Hapy Canopic jar. 9.3.4.13.- The Third Canopy Jar. The third Canopy Jar can be reached from a multitude of paths. The easiest one is finding another bloody wall and press it. Otherwise, you can drop down from the red carpet trap (but that can actually kill you. Save Accordingly). Either way, the deal is that it leads to an outer are with two statues, a trapdoor, and in the end are three semi-hidden switches to press. Press the middle one, the left one and the right one, and that way the trap door will open up. (This puzzle is an example that Thysis requires expertise in finding secrets, as there is absolutely NOTHING that points out to this annoying place. The Rough Cut Gem is also particulary obscure.) It leads to a place where there is a bust of Anubis, the Jackal Headed God, who is, as Egyptian Gods are known to do, missing something. Namely, his staff. I never though of Anubis was an evil god, but, evidently, he is dark, as the Dark Staff we've found earlier is the missing piece for this puzzle. Put it there, and the way to find the third Canopy Jar will be revealed. The Duhamuteff Canopy Jar is ours at last. We're still missing one, though. Also, about the thing I didn't understand with the Wheel of Time, here is a clue: It needs to be two steps after Gemini. We'll take note. 9.3.4.14.- Once again, finding out what the hell are we doing now. Once again, lost. I felt like in that Lovecraft story, the Pyramids. However, there is something we haven't explored fully, which is the Palace of the Pharaoh. Seems like a fitting place to find the last Jar, isn't it? Go there. Go up the stairs and take the right door. In there, approach the throne, but do not walk in the carpet, lest the two statues will fry you. In the left pillar is a switch, press it to reveal the way to the Pharaoh's Key. 9.3.4.15.- Finding an use for the Pharaoh's Key. Open up the other door. Duh. 9.3.4.16.- Finding the final Jar. NOTE: Perhaps due to my heavy usage of cheats during this playthrough, I couldn't get the Qebhsenuef Jar the normal way. NOCLIP would be the way to go, though this is the first time something like this happens. Go into the Pharaoh's room, and find the Scarab near the pool. Shoot it, and go into the Pharaoh's Burial Chamber. There *is* a door in the bottom, which leads you to the Qebhsenuef Jar (see above. It's to the left of the middle structure). Put the Jars in the Structure, and travel to the other side. Hop in the boat. You can go swimming, but it isn't as cool. Welcome to the Temple of Light. 9.3.4.17.- The Key of Ra. I don't know if he lost it, but as you progress in this section, you will find a funny looking clock that is locked, and you need the Key of Ra to open it. The Key was lost probably when Ra was jogging or something, fell down the hole which has a pillar in the middle. Drop down in there. Follow the hallway until the Golem. There are some stairs semi-hidden at the end, to the right wall. Go up, and two doors will open down there. One leads to the start of the Temple of Light. The other, to the Key of Ra. 9.3.4.17.- The Sun Dial. (Bonus Track: The Lower Crown of Egypt) You probably miss the utility of the Sun Dial, though it is impossible to solve Thysis without it. Important, to save yourself a lot of running around later. Hop down. Explore all these catacombs of sorts until you are told you hear a door opening above you. Now, go back to the pillar in the middle, and notice a door has opened. Jump in there, which takes a lot of work, and collect the Lower Crown of Egypt. Remember the ooooother clock related door? The one I told you to remember? Crossing the red bridge? Bingo. The message nearby said some nonsense about the sun set at it's highest. So tune the Sun Dial to 12 o'clock. Now, make your way to that door, which is located in the Temple of Horus. As you reach the door, it will crumble with an earthquake, and reveal something we were missing, the Staff of Nefertum. Finally. Now, make tracks to the Temple of Nefertum. Namely, the Wheel of Time. 9.3.4.17.- The Upper Crown of Egypt. Put the Staff in the middle of the wheel, and the device to spin it will be revealed. Remember? Two steps after Gemini. That's Isis. The Upper Crown will be yours to take. Go back to the Temple and to the room with the three teleporters. I still have no clue about the Hippopotamus. 9.3.4.18.- Finding Pestilence. With both Crowns, place them in the two pedestals in the room with the teleporters. A rather wayward lift will be activated. Down there, Pestilence is hiding. Face him. 9.3.4.19.- Thysis Final Boss: PESTILENCE, THIRD RIDER OF APOCALYPSE. Pestilence is a hooded guy with something that resembles a crossbow. And he's riding a giant boar. Points for originality. Pestilence is the most complicated boss in the game. He can ram you with his boar, which moves quite fast, he shoots with his thing, and, the most annoying part, he releases a swarm of mosquitoes to attack you. There is a room behind your start point which is your safe haven, unfortunately, his flies can enter this room to make your life miserable. You probably might want to use boots in addition to your fourth weapon and a Tome of Power. He's very hard to avoid and his horde of flies are a pain in the rear. The boots help a lot. Finally, you can stuck him rather easy. Just lure him to a corner, and keep a pillar sorta between you both. He can shoot and perhaps release a bunch of mosquitoes, but he won't be able to move unless you approach the center of the room. Not as useful as you might think, but his boar ramming you is his most damaging attack, so it is still an exploitable, and completely fair, bug. Well, not really, but do you really want to spend more time with a guy named PESTILENCE? He ought to stink. _________________________________________ 9.4.- | | | SEPTIMUS - THE SHADOW OF WAR [HUB_SEPT] | |_________________________________________| 9.4.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT SEPTIMUS: - ARCHER LORDS: Considerably more skilled than Knight Archers, Archer Lords are pretty much however the same, only much more resistant, are much more annoying. Archer Lords are more straightforward than Knights. No need to mess with that damn green arrow, just red ones. This arrow is about the same as before, but the Lords' rate of fire in noticeable faster and their aim is incredible. They can calculate your movement to stab the arrow between your eyebrows. The solution, as ussual, is to kill them, well, quickly. Bad news, they are almost never alone. Finally, watch out for their kneeling down. For some stomache or some other reason, they love to duck. Assassin Approach: These enemies have a penchant for walking around (er, patroling), and as such, are highly vulnerable for backstabbing. One will not kill them, but followed by a quick strafing retreat sending bombs their way will be enough to deal with 'em. Crusader Approach: Your Meteor Shaft is your best bet, as packs of enemies are particulary good times for it. As they are rarely alone, you can't really afford to go toe to toe with them. Necromancer Approach: Thanks to the ridiculous rate of fire of your Bone Shards, groups of enemies are not a problem for you. Besides, this far into the game, your mana pool is vast enough. Paladin Approach: Your Vorpal Sword deals enough damage and it's easy to use. Your superior endurance should prove itself, so just move around and get in their face. Then chop their face. Serve with salad. - BROWN SPIDERS: Tough enough to sustain a couple rounds from your third weapon, this spider is the digi-evolution of the black one (no matter what the manual says). Brown spiders are faster, smarter, and tougher than black ones. Furthermore, they also come in packs, and are particulary fond of other monsters, often throwing themselves at you in hopes of catching your well-calculated missile with their jaws. The results are often messy. As scorpions, they tend to dodge slower weapons. Assassin Approach: You're one of the two classes that took on Scorpions hand to hand. Don't be a sissy and do the same now. Crusader Approach: Spiders are pretty hard to deal with for the Crusader, but there is little you can do in the face of the other (harder) enemies, so you're better off using your melee weapon and running like a coward. Necromancer Approach: Magical Missiles seem to deal with 'em pretty good. Just don't get too distracted. This place ain't a museum. Paladin Approach: Again, your Vorpal Sword is the law. It's the law of the west. Remember that cartoon? It was pretty funny. - BRONZE GOLEMS: (Or "Golems XP" as I called them once) Bronze Golems are not only tough and very damaging. They are also pretty ugly to look at. Oh yeah, there is that laser thing too. The last update for the Golems are about the same as before, but their ranged attack now is an slow-moving laser that is probably going to make you curse. As before, they are not much more than cannon fodder (hell, the *game* calls them that), but this one is particulary annoying. Assassin Approach: I bet you probably got tired of hacking at the things before, and used your grenades on them. Tsk, tsk... too bad, too bad. Bronze Golems are a stone in your shoe. Grenades are your best choice, unless your 1337 Katar 5k1llz are good enough to run around them and hit their backside. Crusader Approach: Meteor Shaft once again, if only because it takes a lot less time to do that instead of spending a good five minutes shooting ice cubes at them. Necromancer Approach: Bone Shards shall prove useful if you've got the mana to spare (and if you're playing as the Necromancer and you don't...). Otherwise, and if in tight situations, you're better off using your raven staff to avoid getting trapped in the wrong place at the wrong moment. I mean, dead. Paladin Approach. I know, I know: It's entirely too flavorful to whip out and try to punch them in the face. But don't get carried away. You're much more better off with your Axe. And if you want to go on, just use a Tome of Power before smashing your poor knuckles at their very likely tough cheeks. - MEDUSAS: The newest entry to the enemies' list, the Medusas are green, ugly, and disturbing. Why, you might ask? They are naked, and when killed, their head keeps moving. Eerie. Their acid venom is not only dangerous, it's also homing. How the hell, or what do they eat, they are able to move their saliva once out of their mouths is beyond me, but as much as I try, they won't answer to me. They also can paralyze you, dare you even stand near them. I don't think i have done that, though. I'm not stupid enough to do that. That said, I'm stupid enough to do other things, like getting drunk at the girl-i-like's house. Assassin Approach: Run away from their attacks. I know, I know, you're itching to see their breasts, but don't be fooled. With constant hit- and-hide-t3h-hell-away-from-their-line-of-sight, using even your crossbow, they'll go down without much noise. (I don't know if that comment will be offensive if you're a woman. Sorry if it is.) Crusader Approach: Caution. Any weapon will do, though you might need Boots of Speed, or something to help out your cause. Either way, use your fourth weapon if you're not that healthy. Necromancer Approach: This is one of your worst enemies. Either you use your Bone Shards or your Raven Staff. And get out of their room. Quickly. Paladin Approach: Your Axe is a trusty weapon. Use it. - SHADOW WIZARDS: Do you remember Skull Wizards? Do you remember the first time you found one? Do you remember all the swearing you used that horrible time? Get ready to curse again. Shadow Wizards are amongst the most dangerous and terrible foes in the game, for they are Skull Wizards Part II: The Bull Skull's Strikes Back. They are twice as tough, twice as damaging, and teleport twice as often. Fortunately they are rare at best, and always alone. As their lesser cousins, they turn into spiders when killed. But this time, they are brown spiders, not sissy black ones. Bad times for you. General Approach: Given the rarity of these monsters, using a Tome of Power and your fourth weapon is recommended for all classes. This isn't a joke, Shadow Wizards are indeed a rough encounter, and something you don't want is a lenghty interview with their missiles. - ALSO STARRING: Ice Imps, Skull Wizards, Regular Imps and Hydras. Not really something you need a lecture killing, I'm sure, by now. Refer to 9.1.1 section if you need a memory refreshment about the later two and 9.2.1 for the first. - MID BOSS: None. For once. - FINAL BOSS: Fourth Apocalypse Rider: War. 9.4.2.- SEPTIMUS: In Rome, do as Romans do. Septimus is set on Rome, that magnificient european city and culture which spent their years of glory naming constelations, planets, and bathing in groups. Rome was one of the most impressive human nations, with their incredible architecture and unfamous history of corruption, hands being washed, and sodomy. Located, as you probably do know, in Italy, the Colliseum of Rome being probably the last and more well known treasure left by Rome. I feel the game catched the feeling pretty well, though I always thought that Rome was a lot more open. Don't ask me why, I haven't been to Rome. Neither did I visit it during the years of glory. I was far too young. And behind those walls, War lies. Right at the Colliseum. 9.4.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF SEPTIMUS OBJECTIVES. (besides killing War) The main Objective to accomplish in order to find War is to find the Sunstone, the Shadowstone and the Voidstone, at the Temple of Mars, the god of War. Figures. They will open the lair of War. In order to find them, though you need to find the Crown of Kings, and the Diamond Scepter to open up the way to the Temple of Mars. They are around the Reflecting Pool, and the Baths of Demetrious. To get them, as well, you need the Gold Bar, the Silver Bar as tribute, and first of all, the Crystal. Using this, by now, proper tech, we will make it clear: STEP ONE: Get the Crystal, located in the Hall of Heroes. STEP TWO: Power it up, also at the Hall of Heroes. STEP THREE: Reach the Forum of Zeus, using the Powered Crystal. STEP FOUR: Find the Silver Bar, at the Forum of Zeus. STEP FIVE: Find the Golden Bar, at the Gardens of Athena. STEP SIX: Reach the Reflecting Pool, and offer the two bars as tribute. STEP SEVEN: Find the Diamond Scepter at the Baths of Demetrius. STEP EIGHT: Find the Crown of Kings at the Baths of Demetrius. STEP NINE: Bring 'em to the Reflecting Pool. STEP TEN: Find the three stones at the Temple of Mars STEP ELEVEN: Face War. IMPORTANT: Make sure you read all the clues writing in the walls. They are the key on this hub. IMPORTANT STRIKES BACK: There are 9 prizes which will be released at the Temple of Mars by pressing switches that are very well hidden around the hub. Make sure to keep your eyes open for cracked walls and funny looking passages. They are important, as the boss for this hub (War) is a pain in the ass. 9.4.4.- WALKTHROUGH: 9.4.4.1.- The Crystal. We start in the Hall of Heroes, and as such, is only obvious we, by the blueprints above, search for the Crystal. What are you going to do about it? Complain? I'm helping you solve the game, dammit. Show some gratitude. Anyway, Rightaway, from the start, clear the area of enemies, and admire the great architecture. In that order. Drop to the right, as there is yet no way to go left. Follow the right stairs, we'll follow the others in a short while, though it might be wise to kill the two Archer Lords up there in order to move a bit safer down here. Follow the plaza (and note the weird fish in the pool) at the end, where you will reach a hall with a red carpet. You will have a close encounter of the third kind with a Medusa. As I said before, be really careful. In there, you will find the Crystal... But what is it for? BTW, we will label this hall as the, uh, "Medusa Hall", for purposes of the Treasures of Mars. Next to the statue where the Medusa appeared, it's a cracked wall: Smash to reveal a button and free a Mystic Urn in the Temple of Mars. Nifty. 9.4.4.2.- Power up the Crystal. From there, go upstairs, and nail the golden teleporter. Upon entrance, and I stress, you will have a really close-quarters fight with two Archer Lords. This fight is really tough, and I recommend a Force Cube at the very least. Use the ledges of the stairs for cover. Proceed further, and you will reach the Labyrinth. void main(){ int x[2]; int y; string mapno; x[0]=9; x[1]=0; x[2]= '^_^'; mapno=labyrinth; map=crude_ascii(mapno, X); gotoxy(69,666); printf("This is the map of the labyrinth, for reference and using an incredible large setup for a joke: \d\d%d", map); getch(); } "Compile File. Ignore all Fatal Errors. Run File." This is the map of the labyrinth, for reference and using an incredible large setup for a [EDIT=Stupid and arguably unfunny] joke: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 (X AXIS) ____________________ 0 | __ | | _|| |<- YOU ARE HERE - THIS IS A DOOR. 1 | |_ | |_|_|_| __| 2 |_ || _| | |__| 3 |_| || |_ | | 4 |____||_ | |___ | 5 |_____ | |_ _| | 6 | _ |_| |_| __| 7 | |_| __ |__| 8 | | | _ | 9 |______|__|_____|_|__| (Y A X I S) But I digress. I'm really bad at drawing ASCII. A few things to note: (x, y) (9, 0) A door, which is were you came from. (4, 0) Another door, which we will ignore for the moment. (9, 8) We're heading there in a minute. Oh, it's a door. (6, 2) It's a fake wall. Head up there and at (6, 0) it's a switch which will release a Krater of Might at the Temple of Mars. (0, 9) There is a Medusa guarding a button which will release those doors which were close back at the entrance of the Hub. Furthermore, there is at (0, 7) a fake wall you can smash to reveal a Force Cube. After you're done fiddling around, head back to those doors you've just opened. Bingo, and life's good, a new area containing some spiders it's up to us to explore. Watch out for the Archer Lord as well. Head forward, and place the crystal while you admire the scenary here. It will be charged, granting you with the power crystal. Odelay. 9.4.4.3.- Reaching the Forum of Zeus. Lo and behold, you've got a Power Crystal. You probably either use that for some kind of ancient machinery that requires a crystal that didn't shatter for some reason under lava. Let us go and find that ancient machine. Jump outside of the house you were in through the archway. Go to the right passage down the stairs, and you will find, wow, a machine. Find the red shelf to place the charged crystal and then find the button to the left. Push to turn the thing on. Head outside and now follow the left passage, and cross the newly formed bridge. The button in there will activate the bridge and it will rotate ninety degrees (90º). Your objective is to push the button and get on the bridge before moves (you've got around three seconds), and follow the hall, which leads to the Forum of Zeus. 9.4.4.4.- That's a lot of fours. The Silver Bar. The first tribute you will find is the Silver Bar, which is located in the Forum of Zeus. Your first (well, only) task here is to find the Silver Bar, but heed this advice: "Be Peninent in front of the Throne" Apparently Zeus is a grumpy god. I understand, though. Having your forum raided by green *and* naked green were-lizards, a bunch of dudes with funny looking helmets and family-sized spiders (plus two flying devils) ought to piss off even the nicest moderator. There's a lot to do on this section, which will take a good chunk out of your time. Go forward until the fork, and then right. You will reach a place with a big pool, which requires you to dive in (watch out for the two Hydras), and find the opening behind the wall. In there, eliminate the spiders and hit the button. There is another one going up the stairs, and it requires you to push it as well. It will raise a bridge outside. Get back into the pool and find the elevator. Go find the floorplate to rotate the bridge, and drop down and follow the corridor, which will take you to another section, which features an small courtyard with a Medusa and a fountain. Kill the Medusa to avoid her interfering with your manouvering, then look around to see a crack in the wall. It's upwards, in level of the windows, To the right of the fountain. Break it down (such finesse, eh?). It will reveal a hidden sector which has a swicth and a Quartz Flask. In order to reach it, you need to climb back up, and look for the windows in the opposite side. Advance very carefully through the narrow ledge, and you should be able to throw it for a Mars Prize (a Tome of Power). BTW, two brown spiders will probably appear from *somewhere* as you reveal the switch. Dispose of them before trying to reach it. Afterwards, jump down and follow the corridor. In the way you should spot another cracked wall (in GLHexen it will be as glaring as a misplaced nose)(apologies to all of you with misplaced noses. Mine isn't pretty either, though all of my girlfriends have said it's lovely. Women are weird), which you can break down to reveal yet another Mars Prize, which is a Seal of the Ovinomancer. Yay! In the courtyard choose the left corridor. In there push the walls that are, uh, darker. Either wall is fine, and you will reach a switch that will drop a plataform in the pool room. As you advance this corridor (down the stairs) you will probably come upon and realize there is a room with three items on ledges you *can't* reach. Ignore them for now, but remember their location in the room. It will be sort of like: MYSTIC URN - STONE OF SUMMONING - ICON OF THE DEFENDER As you continue, you will reach three switches. Probably, if you didn't followed my instructions as you played, you have seen a clue which says "Choose life above all others". These three switches are involved with the clue. Either that or I don't know what kind of clue is that one. So push the one relative to the item that gives life, IE the Mystic Urn. It's the left one. It will open up a passage in the item room leading to, guess, the Mystic Urn. I haven't really found a way to reach the Stone of Summoning or the Icon of the Defender, short of noclip. Choosing any other switch will destroy the floor of the room, and make it impossible to reach any item, while gifting you with the heartening message "You choose poorly". A particularity of this one puzzle, is that there is some sort of script that disallows going in or out the are where the puzzle is from the front of the room. You can't even jump down from the ledge the Mystic Urn is located. Now, finally, go back to the room of the pool and jump down to take the elevator up, and you can cross the activated plataform (there is a Bracers in there for you Assassins fans), and follow the corridor. You will probably raise your eyebrows at the sight of the Zeus (I keep writing Seuz for some goddamn reason) wall in from of you. You're quite correct (shame on you if you didn't raised your eyebrows). As you approach it, it will shoot out a VERY DANGEROUS lightning bolt,, which has a ridiculous rate of fire (about one bolt per .75 seconds!)and will drain your character of 10 HP each shoot. Furthermore, it's unavoidable. Just try to run as fast as you can to avoid loosing too much health. The next room has some weird looking things with glasses sticking out of the floor, and a Medusa. For some reason I always have trouble dealing with this particular monster (perhaps is the lack of hiding places), so be careful. Press the two floorplates, and go back to the killing face corridor, and go up the stairs located to the right of the face, in front of it. Up there is the switch that will activate the laser that will go through all the lenses you've just aligned (kinda forgot to tell you that). It will, uh, vanish the rocks that were blocking the way, and opening the way to the Throne of Zeus. STOP! Remember the bit? "Be Penitent in front of the Throne" I didn't wrote that for the hell of it. Go forward, but CROUCHING. As you approach the Throne, a few beams of light, of the INSTANT KILL kind, will shoot off the walls, instantly killing any fool who actually tried to walk to the throne. Grab the Silver Bar at the Throne, and cheer up. Now get out of the Throne room crouching. We're done with the Forum of Zeus. For now. Go back to the Hall of Heroes. 9.4.4.5.- The Gold Bar. The Gold Bar is located at the Gardens of Athena, daughter of Zeus and every child's fantasy as their charming appearance in the SAINT SEIYA anime. To reach the Gardens, trace back to the maze I made a very bad joke about, and reach the door at (4, 0). There is another way into the Gardens of Athena, through the Forum of Zeus, but it's a little more complicated to explain. As you enter the section, you will be presented against two Archer Lords. While fight isn't really all that difficult, watch out for the barrels next to the stairs. One it's explosive, and will blow up half the thing. You will need to push a barrel in order to create a plataform to jump up. After the Lords are killed, jump into the pool and destroy the cracked wall. Follow the way to find and push a switch which will lower a pillar in the next section. Now, jump or go up the stairs. Follow the bridge (if you're playing as the assassin, make use of your invisibility to avoid activated the Archer Lord at the courtyard, which will make things a lot easier). Follow the corridor, and you will find a switch. Make sure you have a lot of health before pushing it, though. As you push it, two Spiders will appear, and they *will* attack and damage you before the cutscene showing the opened door ends, and you *will* take damage. You can try doing a 180º turn, kneel and start wacking or shooting blindly, but the chances of succeding are, well, pretty slim. Go back, and drop down to the courtyard. Go down into the pool where the plataform was lowered, and press the switch, which will reveal yet another Mars Prize. Go up, and follow the doorway. There are a Medusa and two spiders in there blocking the way, and go forward, and you will reach yet another courtyard, this time with a Mystic Urn lying suspiciously in there... Could it be? Should we grab it? OF COURSE! we're hardened adventurers! Little traps like that we shall not fear!! Go and earn your prize!! ... nothing happened Eh. Anyway, continue, and make sure to grab the Seal of the Ovinomancer in the way. Along the way, you should note a door. Following the hall off it, you will find to the right another courtyard with a few enemies, items, and your third weapon (IE: Nothing too exciting, though one of the Ice Imps in there activates very rarely, and just rather stands up there flying and creeping you out with that damn "swoosh" sound). The left paths leads to the Forum Of Zeus. This is the other way to reach the Gardens of Athena. For now, continue the way, and you will reach an small temple. There is a ledge with two Archer Lords and a Medusa is inside the temple. Treat them accordingly. Inside the temple, two hints are given. One is "look upwards for divine help" or something to that style. Look upwards, and shoot the switch. Easy enough. A Stone of Summoning will be spawned in fron of the Athena bust. The Other hint relates to "Let no weapon be drawn before the Altar of Athena". Get out of the temple, and got back where the mural of the two naked guys is [CHO ANIKI PLUG-IN]. Follow the stairs until the switch, now go back to the temple area, and follow the ledge to the right of the temple in order to press a switch. Now get to the elvator (which lowers by pressing the switch following the naked guys mural), and follow the ledge until the very end, and press the switch. A Skeleton Wizard will appear on the ledge where the Bracers are. The switch also opens the door nearby. NOTE: The Assassin and the Paladin have an easy time getting those Bracers, but the Crusader and the Necromancer might have some trouble. Use a Boots of Speed item. Also, look around the other side of the temple: from the symetrically opposed ledge, you can reach a valuable Invisibility Sphere. Futhermore, from any ledge you can reach the combined mana in front. Follow the newly opened door, and you will reach the real Temple of Athena, whose figure awaits you with the Golden Bar. There are six dormant imps who are very likely to kill you if you wake them up, which will happen if you fire any weapon (including the first) inside the room. However, a Mars Prize require you to blow up the cracked step (the last one to the right). There is probably a way to do so without having all Hell break loose on your neck, but I don't know how. I just kinda gather cold blood and fire away while running like a headless chicken. As you press the switch hidden inside the cracked step, a swicth will be revealed with an item and the switch for the Mars Prize (a Stone of Summoning, which isn't worth the effort anyway). Either way, get the Gold Bar, which is our objective, and admire the (really cool) statue of Athena. I find that strangely attractive, though I wake up in the fact that I'm not only looking at a goddess, but I am also drooling over a bunch of polygons. And even more ridiculous is a bunch of polygons that resemble an statue. I don't know the name of that sexual perversion, but sure as hell it's weird. Bah. Perhaps it's some kind of fetish? *I was gonna make a joke relating to big swords, but I decided to censore it, as it was going to be off-limits. I know, I know, but gamefaqs.com is visited by kids as well. I've just received an e-mail from an eleven years old kid. I feel responsible for their future now.* *right* BTW, I have no idea how to get the Krater of Might at the courtyard with the pool. Any help would be appreciated, as it has been bugging me since 1996. 9.4.4.6.- Reaching the Reflecting Pool. There is no kind of in-game evidence as of where we should take the two Bars, but there is only one door we haven't been yet, and that is the one at the Hall of Heroes, next the house where we powered up the crystal. That is, of couse, unless you've already been there. This is probably the only incongruence on the hub, as it makes little sense, and no clues are given to maintain the flow of the puzzles. And yes, I am complaining. Raven, next time you do this, we'll have a conversation. I'm still pissed off with Alice's jumping style. Go back to the aforementioned house, and take the one entering we didn't take, not the one below it, not the ornate one, the other. I will lead you to the Reflecting Pool. 9.4.4.7.- Entering the Temple of Mars: The Diamond Scepter and the Crown of Kings. In order to reach the Temple of Mars (which is actually accessable from here, the Reflecting Pool), you require both the Diamond Scepter and the Crown of Kings. We'll find the Diamond Scepter first. Go forward, and you can a) follow the whole thing, killing monsters, getting items and going down the stairs... or b) jump down to the pool. I choose b), because I was hurt, but I later went and killed everything. Only Archer Lords and brown spiders. No big deal. Follow the last corridor which will lead you to a big Temple, where a Bronze Golem is. Destroy it and put the two Bars in the two shelves flanking the door, opening up the way. Deal with what few enemies are there, and go forward until you reach the door to the Baths of Demetrius Actually, if you are hurt, drop down to the water, and find the passageway. It will lead you to a switch which actually activates the bridge leading to the (for now) closed gate to the Temple of Mars. You will have to deal with an Archer Lord and a brown Spider, though, but there's lots of items around. You can just jump into the bridge in order to reach it quickly. 9.4.4.7.1.- The Diamond Scepter. The Baths of Demetrius are a weird level. Dunno why. Choose the left way and go forward (note the painting in the wall. Those "in-the-know" for Roman culture will note the Roman Gods). And no, you won't find Demetrius bathing. Nor will you find any hot women. Actually, you will find a damn Skull Wizard bugging you. Follow the corridor, and you will see a very complicated puzzle. The Correct solution is FIRE (the, uh fire) - STEAM ( the vertical lines) - WATER (The broken lines) - AIR (The horizontal lines). Each time you fail, a Skull Wizard will appear to piss you off. I found the correct combination through trial and error (and dying), but the clues aren't apparent. The Diamond Scepter will appear next to the grinning face. .4.4.7.2.- The Crown of Kings. Don't leave. The Crown of Kings is just at grasp. Drop down, and take a look. You will see three switches. Go further and you will find a room with a "river", and floorplate. Pressing it will result in "Something's not right". Note the three arrows in front of you. Go back and press the switches in order to make them look like those three arrows. I will be pointed at 12:00, II at 3:00 and III at 6:00. Come back and press the floorplate. A few barrels will float up that will allow you to reach the other switch, which in turn will open up a secret passage with an Archer Lord and a couple of goodies. (Try not to break the barrels) Now, drop down into the water. Take care of the hydras in there, and follow up to the next room. Follow the way (the next room's entrance is to the corner, very badly lit). You will reach a place with a fountain to the right, and some stairs (to the entrance of the level). You need to jump into the window where the Archer Lord is shooting at you, I recommend you go up the stairs to the left, and jump from there. There lies the Crown of Kings. Go back to the Reflecting pool the same way you came in. 9.4.4.7.- Entering the Temple of Mars: Episode II. Back at the Reflecting, pool, if you did like I told you, you already know what to do. Otherwise, I'll cut and paste. "Actually, if you are hurt, drop down to the water, and find the passageway. It will lead you to a switch which actually activates the bridge leading to the (for now) closed gate to the Temple of Mars. You will have to deal with an Archer Lord and a brown Spider, though, but there's lots of items around. You can just jump into the bridge in order to reach it quickly." So long, sincerity. Place the Crown of Kinds and the Diamond Scepter there. 9.4.4.8.- The Temple of Mars: The Sunstone and the Shadowstone. As you enter, go forward until you meet a large open area. This one has a archway, and two doors. Your goal here is to find all three stones. For arrangement motives, we'll first find the Shadowstone and the Sunstone. We'll leave the Voidstone for later. Yeah, it's like MORTAL KOMBAT. "CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY. EITHER WAY, I AM EATING YOUR QUARTERS." Good thing we're playing a PC game. Choose the right one. And I mean the one to your right, Defender of Justice and Beacon of Light. 9.4.4.8.1.- The Shadowstone. (The first time I wrote "dhasowstone". Sounds like a nice name for someone born in some small island that doesn't appears on the map.) Through the right door you will find a big hall, which sports a few monsters, but more noticeably a Shadow Wizard. You will be able to tell them apart easily thanks to their size and the lack of any problem they could have about killing you. Really, just use a Tome of Power and your fourth weapon. Any other tactic is just an exercise in futility. Once killed, regain yourself and explore, picking up the items. Press the switch as well, which, to be honest, I have no idea what is it for, but it releases two brown spiders. Eh. Experience, I guess. I'll leave you free to explore the room and the ways, but two things are important: - Following the right passage upstairs will take you to the hall where all of your prizes are waiting for you. Apparently, I'm missing quite a few. Any information would be appreciated, as writing this walkthrough for this Hub took me three days, and I'm getting sick of the romans. - Following the left passage upstair will take you to a small room with a switch (which use will be revealed later) to right, and a up close and personal showdown with another Shadow Wizard. You can pass him up and grab the Shadowstone in there, but, seriously, the last thing you want is to have this scourge roaming around the map. 9.4.4.8.2.- The Sunstone. The left door at the "CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY" hall will take you to a room with a Tome of Power inside a rectangle of lightning. Run through it, to grab it and to press the floorplate. Up there, take care of the Archers and Spiders and press the switch in order to turn the lightning off. Now, to the left of the switch is the hall of the Sunstone. It's also guarded by a damn Shadow Wizard. 9.4.4.8.3.- The Temple of Mars Continues: The Voidstone. From there, go to the other passageway, right of the switch. Press the next switch in order to open up the way next to the scythes, allowing you to get the goodies without having to calculate the hell out of their pattern. Go through either of the entrances, and meet the statue of Mars. Jump down and go directly below where you came in. You will have the fourth and final (for the hub at least) confrontation with a Shadow Wizard. Kill him and claim the Voidstone. 9.4.4.9.- Reaching The Colliseum of War. Go back where the statue of Mars was. Now, go behind it and place the three stones. At last, the way to War's den, the Colliseum of War, is open. 9.4.5.- Septimus Final Boss: WAR, FOURTH RIDER OF APOCALYPSE. War resembles a really buff dude, riding a horse, with an armor and an axe. It isn't precisely impressive, but hell is he tough. Furthermore, there is a funny bug on his behaviour. If you don't begin shooting the hell out of him, all he will do is run around the area, laughing and doing cool-looking moves on his horse. As with all previous bosses, if you're brave enough with the Assassin, you can hack him with your Katar for Critical Damage rather easily. War's attacks are trampling you, should you ever dare to stand on his way, and throwing a couple of homing axes, pretty much like the Paladin's. However, that's more than enough to kick your ass. Run like hell, take cover, and keep a Tome of Power active at all times. Shoot away. He will take breaks between his Axe Throwing routines, which is your chance to chase him down. War is the least complicated of all the Riders, but it's certainly the most damaging and most durable of them all. _________________________________________________________ 9.5.- | | | RETURN TO BLACKMARSH - SHOWDOWN WITH EIDOLON [HUB_BLK2] | |_________________________________________________________| 9.5.1.- ENEMIES PRESENT AT RETURN TO BLACKMARSH. - GOLDEN GOLEMS: I'm hesistant to call these a new enemy, and I'm pulling that "GOLDEN" title out of my ass, because, besides being absolutely massive, these Golems aren't that much different from the previous Bronze Golems. That said, I have witnessed Golems in this hub pull an area attack, which is them stomping on the ground, damaging any poor player in the vincinity, which is a pretty nasty surprise for Assassins trying to get critical on their punk behinds. I haven't seen any other golem doing that, so take that as you will. As such, tactics are about the same, except for the roguish gal. Assassin Approach: Golden Golems are pretty fond of their area attacks, so try to avoid any head to head contact. Grenades, all the way, here until the cows come home. Crusader Approach: Meteor Shaft once again, if only because it takes a lot less time to do that instead of spending a good five minutes shooting ice cubes at them. Necromancer Approach: Bone Shards shall prove useful if you've got the mana to spare (and if you're playing as the Necromancer and you don't...). Otherwise, and if in tight situations, you're better off using your raven staff to avoid getting trapped in the wrong place at the wrong moment. I mean, dead. Paladin Approach. I know, I know: It's entirely too flavorful to whip out and try to punch them in the face. But don't get carried away. You're much more better off with your Axe. And if you want to go on, just use a Tome of Power before smashing your poor knuckles at their very likely tough cheeks. - FALLEN ANGELS: Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. I present you the one most hellishly tough, difficult, annoying and powerful enemy in the game. Fallen Angels resemble women with gray dresses, golden bracers, blonde hair up. And Wings. I almost forgot that. You can tell they are Fallen because their wings are like bat's. And, well, because an Angel shouldn't be trying to kill a Crusader or a Paladin. It's way too much out of flavor. Angels attack with two different projectiles, though strategically you don't want to get hit by any of them. Furthermore, their natural transparency is annoying and they can protect themselves with their wings. And they fly. There is a variation of the Fallen Angels. Dressed in Red Clothes, and brunnetes, they seem not to differ so much from their sisters: except that they are solid, and much tougher. General Approach: Like Shadow Wizards, though more numerous, the only way to deal with some degree of safety with Fallen Angels is to whip out that fourth weapons and keep a Tome of Power if possible active, to avoid an extended meeting. Unlike Wizards, they don't teleport, but they have an annoying tendence to, hmm, you know, FLY. That said, sometimes Fallen Angels will just don't trigger and activate when you come upon detection distance, even if you came with Slayer playing with Woodstock's sound system. This can happen to any monsters, but, apparently, Fallen Angels have in beauty what they lack in hearing and/or sight. Shame on them. Not that you should care, since you're just bassically trying to kill them. Due to this error in their script, except when threatened, you can sometimes avoid them altogether. Also, I haven't been able to throughly test the red ones. Based on my own observations, they are tougher but totally solid, unlike the gray ones, that turn solid after an ammount of damage's been done. - ALSO STARRING: Archers, Black Spiders, Skull Wizards... Archer Lords and Shadow Wizards as well, Brown Spiders... Every enemy in the game save for Werecats, Mummies and Green nak-medusas. Refer to previous hubs in order to learn about them. - MID-LEVEL BOSS: None. Eidolon's bad enough. - FINAL BOSS: Eidolon, the Third Serpent Rider. 9.5.2.- RETURN TO BLACKMARSH: Back in Black. After all that killing at Mazaera, defying the time travel at Thysis, and stealing all you could at Septimus, you're thrown back to Blackmarsh, probably to clean all the mess you left three hubs ago. That said, you're exploring new areas, which is pretty good, as thanks to the demo, by the time I played the full game I was sick of using the crossbow to destroy the tower. The reason I played the demo so much? I wanted to find the Fallen Angels. I gave up a year and a half later, I think, when Heroes of Might and Magic III was released... and I bought Hexen II. 9.5.3.- GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RETURN TO BLACKMARSH OBJECTIVES. (besides, of course, killing Eidolon and finishing the game) Blackmarsh Strikes Back is arguably (not counting enemy encounters) the easiest hub: The puzzles and running around are reduced to a minimum difficulty, which is greatly thanked as we're probably far too frustrated by Septimus incoherences, Thysis cryptic clues and Mazaera's damn tests by now to stay dealing with more. That said, your goal is to reach and pass Eidolon's Ordeal in order to earn a meeting with Eidolon. To get there, you need the Mage's Tome, which is in some random location which is only accessable by a machine, which is powered by a missing Golden Sphere. And to reach the Underhalls (which is the only way to reach the Ordeal), you require the Holy Relic, which is currently Defiled and you require to play a piano to open the way to the Defiled Relic. You ain't no Mozart, so you need some score, and you'll find it at the Mage's Tower, same place where you find the machine that leads you to the Mage's Tome. As you can see, Blackmarsh, the Two Towers, revolves around items that can be picked up in, bassically, any order. We'll develop this technique: STEP ONE: Reach the Mage's Tower. STEP TWO: Collect the Gold Sphere at the Dark Mage's Room. STEP THREE: Collect the Music Sheet at the Dark Mage's Lab. STEP FOUR: Figure out what the hell are you gonna do with a marble which size is roughly equal to your head, and a stupid piece of paper. ACTUAL STEP FOUR: Reach the hidden area and find the Mage's Tome. STEP FIVE: Use the Sheet Music at the piano to reach the Defiled Relic. STEP SIX: Clean the Relic at Tyrannith's room. STEP SEVEN: Reach the underhalls. STEP EIGHT: Enter the Ordeal. STEP NINE: Challenge it and beat it to the ground. STEP TEN: Kill Eidolon. That's, in a nutshell, all that's there to do at Blackmarsh, Season II. There is more to do, but it's optional. 9.5.4.- WALKTHROUGH. 9.5.4.1.- A little tour through the Cathedral. From the start, you can explore at your leisure. Going left, past the barred door, you can find an storage room, where a small passageway lies behind a box. You can then drop down from the hole, find the switch in the coffin, and follow the newly opened corridor to the right. Drop down again, open the door (which leads nowhere, but will save a lot of walking around later), and step through the teleporter. You will find Tyrannith's room, the guy who left all those notes for you. It isn't entirely too important by now, but as you leave the room, you will see a fountain of Holy Water. Other places of interest are: The Church, which is located past the teleport you see when you start. Inside, a few archers and a Fallen Angel lies. This isn't too important either... for now. Finally, the Piano's around. Not much you can do without some Sheet Music. So, by now, move your ass to the Dark Mage's Tower to find the Gold Sphere... 9.5.4.2.- Finding the Gold Sphere. While you don't really need the Sheet Music yet, there is no reason whatsoever to not get it right now, but in order to make it as safe as possible, we'll first find the Gold Sphere. Such sphere is hidden inside the room of a Shadow Wizard. And such room requires you to move left, and follow the second doorway off the spiral staircase. It will take you to a place with a huge hole in the floor. Look for the wooden planks, destroy them, and hit the gear you'll find. It will activate the bridge, but you need to move very fast in order to cross it. Now, follow the ramps to the room, and break up the devil plate, which will reveal the Golden Sphere at last. BTW, watch out for the Shadow Wizard, who's probably guarding his hidden stash of porno. 9.5.4.3.- Finding the Sheet Music. The Sheet Music is on the way to our next objective, so you might as well collect it now. Go back to the spiral staircase, and go down, and take the first doorway. Follow the corridor untl the open area. Enter the room, and follow it until you see a lion tapestry. Smash it to reveal a hidden passage full of spiders, and, at the end, a elevator. Welcome to the Shadow Wizard's lab. There, floating in mid-air and guarded by a Shadow Wizard, stands the Sheet Music. I've got no clue what the hell was he experimenting on. 9.5.4.4.- The Mage's Tome. Put the Golden Sphere behind the chair. Now, go and walk between the electric prongs, and it will take you to a new area, and a one-on-one fight against a Bronze Golem. No big deal, I hope. Killing the golem will allow you to continue. Kill the mindless to achieve your goals. One of Hexen's life's lessons. Don't forget it. Anyway, the next section has a rather creepy statue, and a few items far beyong your jumping skills. Now, with some jumping around, you can reach the Mage's Tome without that much trouble (A glaring flaw in level design), I'm confident that the Assassin and the Paladin can grab it, though I'd have to test with the Necromancer and the Crusader. The real way lies in attacking the corner of the statue to see it topple down, and jump to get the Ring of Flying, with it, the Tome and the goodies. Go ahead for a crash against the demon wall to go back to the spiral staircase. 9.5.4.5.- Tying lose knots. Now that we've got the Mage's Tome and the Music Sheet, we're about to leave the Cathedral and never come back (well, you *can* come back later, since there was a "jammed" door back there at the wizard's lab, remember? Obviously, there is a way to open it, but the items is still far from us), we'll tie any lose knots on one swift swoop. Go back to the Cathedral if you haven't done so, and approach the Piano to enjoy some... eh... music. Jump outside, and deal with the Golden Golem if you haven't done so, and watch out, as the door opens, another Golem is behind the corner. Follow the corridor until you see a pretty big bell. Kill everyone (there is some mana - and another Archer Lord - outside), and shoot the bell until it actually makes a sound. Jump down (this jump could hurt you if you try it again without the wooden planks stopping you), and you will find Tyrannith's body... Which explodes, for some reason. I *really* wanted to have a close view to the man who's been one step ahead of us all the game, but, apparently, though he went through it all, a couple of Archer Lords did him in. Jump into the white transported, which will take you to a ledge. We've been here before: It's the church. Don't jump down, just look to your side: a pretty sad looking cross is there lying. Grab it, it's the Defiled Relic. Take it to the fountain that has Holy Water (9.5.4.1 if you didn't do it before, it's near Tyrannith's room and requires a rather long ride), and jump inside it to clean the cross. Take the Holy Relic, and approach the altar at the church. it will open a new way. There is a hole in the floor. Look around before jumping: A hidden stash of goodies is behind the wall that... uh... LOOKS DIFFERENT. Hit it to open it. If you go this way and go down, you will reach a pretty familiar place. Anyway, go down, and, going the left way, you will find a door to our next area: The Underhalls. 9.5.4.6.- Finding the Prybar and the Torture Chamber (OPTIONAL) The Underhalls is a pretty big level, but almost everything there is to do here it's optional. To find the Prybar, go forward until you meet the first Archer Lord. From there, go right. You'll reach a sewage system (There is a Mystic Urn in there as well, for some unknown reason). Follow the only way you can, and you'll find a place where you will see a wheel on the wall. Use it to open the second left tube. Jump in there, and you will end up on a mucky room with another wheel. Use it as well, and follow the archway. Climb up the circular staircase (and, by whatever deity you worship, don't fall down into the lava. Jackass.), and you will reach a room with three doors, and a pedestal in the middle. This is where you put the Mage's Tome to continue your quest, but, for now, go back to the sewage system. Go through the now opened right tube. Along the way you will find the Prybar, an absolutely optional item with the only use of opening the jammed door back at the Wizard's lab. A couple of goodies await (I frankly think it's not worth my time, but being so easy to miss, you might as well just do it). There is an entrance to the Dark Mage's Tower around. Follow the tunnel again. When you're drop down, find the wheel and get the Icon of the Defender. The right exit leads to the gruesome Torture Chamber, a pretty brutal sight with two regular Archers in there doing *I don't want to know*. Even the evil ones find love. We can only guess they are men inside those armors, but who knows. And who knows inside their hearts... Okay, I'm just kidding. Destroy the door, and let the Archer do the dirty work of destroying the wall. Hit the spot that reads "Help", for a secret. With that, you're free to explore, but when you're done, go back to the place with the three doors to continue. 9.4.5.7.- Reaching the Ordeal. Place the Mage's Tome on the pedestal. Easy, wasn't it? 9.4.5.8.- Eidolon's Ordeal. The last part of the game is a switch hunting to get the Soul Key, in order to open that door in front of you. To get it, you will need to challenge Eidolon's Ordeal, which isn't very fun, but it's challenging as hell. Now, it's pretty intuitive, but if you ever need help, here we go. Follow the way until you come to a place with stained mirrors. The center one is the way to go. Go forward until you've come to a bridge: Go really fast in there, as every switch will release shards from the sides. Go ahead, down the stairs, and reach the room with the Fallen Angel. Find the switch near the (Hopefully) dead angel, and throw it. Drop down and kill the two Archers below, and one of the rooms has another switch. Go back up, and follow the stairs. It will lead you to a room with a Mystic Urn. Hit the switch which will drop you down against some Spiders. Find and hit the button, and get back to the room after the bridge. You should be able to jump through to get a small opening. From there, follow the rope to the switch. Again, go very fast. Go back to reach the other opening, left of where you entered. You will reach a place whee there is a box in the floor, and another switch. Throw it and jump onto the box, and find the next switch, which you can reach by jumping. Now, go back, and past the bridge, there should be another way, which goes up. It's a room with stairs and pillar. Follow the stairs until you can't go much up: look down and drop down to the ledge. On the room, find the switch, thrown the switch, get the Tome of Power, and throw the next switch. Go up and find the newly unbarred opening and follow it. The next door will open up alone. The next room requires some timing. Throw the switch, and jump on to the plataform. It will eventually lead you to the Soul Key. With it, forget about the world, and go back to the start. It's time to deal with Eidolon. 9.5.5.- Final Boss: EIDOLON, THIRD SERPENT RIDER. Eidolon's a big demon. That's about it: he's almost cute. He's a big red demon, with horns, a tail, and a hot temper. As you enter the lair, go forward and approach the opposite wall: he'll pop off it like the KOOL-AID MAN. His only attack is to send some homing green energy blasts at you, which are pretty damaging, and difficult to dodge. Eidolon shares his bad sight with Fallen Angels: If he can't see you, he won't even move (You'll find later that it's damn hard for him not to see ya). As with basically all bosses, you can loop him by staying behind a colum, move to the side, shoot, and hide back. However, he *can* hit you, but you should be able to get through using this lame tactic. BTW, he has a LOT of HP. After enough damage's been done, in the middle, the key will be raised: The Chaos Sphere will appear, granting Eidolon a massive overhaul, receiving two new attacks (a melee attack, and a lightning attack at random. To avoid this, just keep moving and using those Quartz Flasks: it's almost impossible to avoid all damage)... Aim at the chaos sphere. Seriously, you'll do shit shooting at him. The Assassin should go up close and personal and use the katar. Attack it with it to get Critical Strikes from almost any side, and plus you save mana. Once destroyed, Eidolon will keep being big. By now, keep moving and shoot at him. If you ever run out of mana, you'll have to resort to use the crossbow around. It's nearly impossible to hit him melee, not to mention lethal and stupid. After enough damage, he will die, and you will have completed HEXEN II. ************************************************************************* 10.- Credits. ************************************************************************* 11.- Legal Stuff. This file is owned by Lord Zero (dskzero@yahoo.com) You MAY distribute, print, read, show to your friends or enemies this guide freely, AS LONG as you credit Lord Zero as the author, keep the copyright on it, and is used for non-profit purposes. You MAY NOT change ANYTHING on this guide, adding or taking anything out of it, including banners, links, or anything else. You MAY NOT distribute this guide on any non-electronic media. All I ask from you if you wish to publish this guide on your site, is to keep it updated, and to notificate me of your URL. All Rights Reserved. Anything not mentioned on this text can be discussed via email to the address below. Copyright 2004-2006 By Lord Zero (dskzero@yahoo.com).