What am I doing in Varant?

[JemyM]

I had a grasp of what I was doing. Orcs had invaded, Xardas seemed to be the head of them, the Fire Mages want to find the chalices to restore their magic and Xardas seems to want them too.

So I had a few left to find when I ran down into Varant...

But now suddenly I am on some huge crusade in finding 5 ancient temples and rise my reputation to meet a Dark Dude called Zubar. I just failed to grasp why.
I could grasp the noble task of helping the Nomads to retake their land, but does that have anything to do with the main plot?

Overall I feel like I missed some vital pieces of the main plot. Maybe I forgot to do something in Myrtana.

[Corwin]

Have you talked to Saturas?

[Acleacius]

While I haven't finsihed yet or even come close, my guess is the Artifacts (at least 5, other than the Fire Chalices) are in Varent buried in Tombs which belong to the Ancient Ones and these Artifacts are needed for at least one eding if not all.

Secondly if you are going the Dark Path you must do it working with Zuban.

Oddly enough the Main Plot seems to be told through reading the Books which give Ancient Magic, though I am guessing Xardas is the key to learning the plot, which I am saving till last, was hoping just to run around doing quest and killing roaming Mobs.

[JemyM]

I have 11 Fire Chalices, the 12th is the one im supposed to get from Milten.
I have Robe of Adanos, Crown of Adanos, Ring of Adanos and Amulet of Adanos. The fifth is a main quest, and Myxir said I should speak to the Fire Mages about it.

It feels that I am pretty much done with Varant then, except burning down every village in the name of the Nomads.

[Corwin]

Ah, our little pyromaniac of a fire mage!! :)

[Maylander]

The chalices are not very important - the artifacts of Adanos is what really matters, and they are the ones everyone wants to get ahold of. If you have the two in Myrtana and two in Varant, you can proceed to Nordmar as far as the main quest goes, unless you want to fight for Beliar - Zuben is one of the main guys for Beliar players, sort of like Rhobar for Innos. You'll get back to Varant as part of the main quest later, don't worry, and then you'll see a bit more of the point I suspect. :)

[JemyM]

Maybe I should have headed for Nordmar before spending so much time in Varant...

[Maylander]

No no, it's definetly not a waste of time. It's fun to explore it, and Varant certainly have a few interesting things to find if you look hard enough. No time spent exploring is wasted time really, you might just come across a cave with a couple of tomes that grant +5AK per tome, or a few ancient stone tablets. Also, like I said, you'll get back to Varant later on, and then it's good to have a general idea what is going on down there, so you know who's who and where to go. :)

[Corwin]

OK, where are those caves!! :biggrin:

[Maylander]

There is one to the north west, just follow the mountains to the north in Varant. It's a valley filled with dead trees, just south of it you'll find a camp where one of the water mages is(Nefarian I think) - with him, you can visit the ancient tomb of the eternal wanderer as a quest. Inside, you'll find at least +10 or 15AK in bookshelves and such.

[Corwin]

Thanks, that will be my next planned visit once I finish with my current quest!!

Edith says: Found him etc, but now he won't leave me!! :biggrin: Had to tell him to wait as well!! I think it's another small bug!!

[Maylander]

Hehe yes, same happened to me, he refused to leave. He just said "now we can explore it in peace" after clearing it, and then kept following me. Maybe I have a winning smile as well so people won't leave? Haha :D

[Corwin]

Oh, he did teach me Ice Explosion (for free, since no LP's were taken). Talk to him after you read the tablets!!

[Maylander]

Are you serious? He gives you that for free as a reward? That is perfect! I'm doing a water mage game now and could use that spell, I'll be running down to Varant later tonight!

[Corwin]

So far I'm finding the ice spells 'challenging' to use effectively!! Fire spells seem much easier and more reliable!! I'll be interested in your views.

[Maylander]

Ice spells basically only work on the first attack, after the enemy is frozen they have no effect untill you break the ice, making these types of spells best for battle mages(who can freeze packs of creatures and then whack them down 1 by 1).

For a pure mage, fireball or lightning seems to be the best option as main spell.

As a water mage now I only have ice lance as an attack spell, but I use transformation, taming and summon animals to aid me in various fights. It's nowhere near as powerful as a full fire mage is, but it can certainly be fun, and a bit challenging to think out new ways to kill people(by using various beasts to do the killing for me). Always fun to take out an orc patrol by leading a few shadowbeasts their way! :D

[Corwin]

Yeah, if the beasts don't get you first!! :)