Solusek's Eye
The Solusek Mining Company, an intrepid group of gnomes, ventured to Solusek's Eye from their home city of Ak'Anon to mine ore and produce tinkered creations. To aid the excavation of this dangerous s region, the gnomes have brought with them a horde of clockwork miners who can better tolerate the intense heat emanating from the pools and rivers of magma.
Fire goblins also make these caverns home, unaffected by the searing heat. Though the mining company and fire goblin clan are not in direct conflict, they have no love for each other. They do, however, share a hatred for the Solusek kobolds and the fire giants. The fire giants and the fire goblins both serve the great red dragon, Lord Nagafen.
Those that dare to trek too deeply through Solusek's Eye are advised to be wary of stumbling into the lair, for creatures that lurk there are far more deadly than the goblins and fire elementals of Solusek's Eye. The lair is accessed through the innermost tunnel system of the complex.
If one is brave enough to endure the suffocating heat of the lava and the constant torment of the goblins, Solusek's Eye can be a wonderful place to find wealth. The ore mined by the goblins and gnomes can be sold for a handsome price to merchants in various towns. Also, the shamanistic magic of the globins has allowed them to craft simple trinkets with properties that could prove helpful.
Several tunnels will lead unwary adventurers directly into Nagafen's Lair, where more powerful enemies, such as ferocious kobolds, make certain that they will never see the light of day again.
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Map
Note: the lettered areas on the map are zone points to the corresponding lettered areas in Nagafen's Lair (Sol B) |
Safe/Evac Spot
-476, -486, 73 (Zone line to Lavastorm)
Dangers
This dungeon is a vast series of underground tunnels with several separate areas. Overall, though, there are some general dangers with the zone. First of all, it's very confusing to get around in. There are a lot of small winding tunnels, regular and secret doors, traps, drawbridges, and lava rivers. Do not expect that you will be able to make fast time in order to evade an enemy through this zone, at best you'll get lost, at worst you'll wind up dead at the bottom of a river of lava, not a nice place to be.
Second is that it is difficult to move around while invisible or hidden here. Pretty much all of the spellcasting goblins can see through even high level invis, as well as the champions and elementals. This can sometimes make corpse recovery difficult, and require you to find an alternate route to where you need to be.
Third is that this is a place for short people. Goblins and gnomes live here. That makes it very difficult for many larger races to get around, and being trapped in a doorway can mean not only your own death, but the deaths of your entire party as they pile up behind you trying to get past. Come here with an ability to shrink, or I would go somewhere else.
Now for specific dangers. The goblins are the first thing you'll encounter as you enter the zone, regardless of which entrance (from Lavastorm or Nagafen's Lair) you use. These are, in order of strength, the young, cinder, flame, fire, inferno, and Solusek goblins, and they all have wizards and shamans in their ranks. They can be pretty tough in groups, especially with a couple of wizards in them, but the usual tactics apply for taking them on. Just watch the lava.
The gnomes present a more difficult problem. They are slightly more powerful than the goblins, and have clerics and magicians among them. They, and their Clockwork guardians, will all assist one another in a fight. The biggest problem with fighting them is the faction problem. They share the same factions as in Ak'Anon, and although you can move safely within their domain if you've never killed one (mostly), fighting there a lot will make you many enemies. Consider this before camping out the Mining Company.
The last real danger is the elementals and the pit traps. If you fall in a pit trap, you will be fighting an elemental that can see through invis, so be ready, or avoid the traps. These elementals also appear in other regions, and are the most powerful enemies in the zone (nearly 40th level) and aggressive, so be prepared
Benefits
If one is brave enough to endure the suffocating heat of the lava and the constant torment of the goblins, Solusek's Eye can be a wonderful place to find wealth. The ore mined by the goblins and gnomes can be sold for a handsome price to merchants in various towns. Also, the shamanistic magic of the goblins has allowed them to craft simple trinkets with properties that could prove helpful.
Solusek's Eye has quite a few benefits for the adventurous. First of all, it's a huge zone. You will never not be able to find anything to fight in here. In fact, most areas go untouched for days because nobody goes deeply enough in. This means good hunting regardless of the level of your group. Camping the exact spawn you want might be a little more difficult, but you'll be able to get exp without a problem.
For leveling in your late 20s and early 30s, the Solusek Bar Room offers some of the best experience in the game. A single group can easily hold the entire bar and king room with a good puller (just be wary of the bad pathing in the first room on the right when heading to the bar). Drops from the goblins in this area are an excellent source of income as well. Approximately every third goblin will drop ore (ranging from bricks to blocks) and every fifth to sixth goblin will carry fine steel weapons. If your character possesses the ability to sneak there is a goblin merchant (located at 14 on the map, he is dubious to all, gives no xp or loot when killed) who you can sell all this loot to; he also sells bandages, food and water.
There is also a variety of creatures to fight. You want to fight goblins? Fight goblins. You want gnomes? Fight gnomes. Fighting each requires different tactics and an entirely different set of loot. And when you're done, you can take the loot to the other's merchant.
Last, but not least, some of the greatest items in the game come from here. While this is good, they are also frequently camped out for a long period of time. I have not once found an uncamped kobold predator, for instance, in my journeys. It has to happen, but it's not common.
Traveling To and From
There are multiple entrances into Solusek's Eye. The main one that people take is from the Lavastorm Mountains. Within the mountains, travel to the large lava pit at the north end, known as Solusek's Eye (not to be confused with this zone). There are two paths to caves on the southern edge of the lava pit, the one you want is the eastern one, which will take you to Solusek's Eye.
There are multiple zones from Nagafen's Lair (Sol B) into Solusek's Eye. These are frequently used as escapes from Solusek's Eye to Sol B, but be aware that they are also used for the same purpose on the other side, which has much tougher monsters, and you may be going from the frying pan into the fire when you appear on the other side
Garden Variety's Glorious Adventures and Travel Guide
While their Taklasinai elders reside much further below Lavastorm Mountains, the Goblins of Fire Peak use this cave system as their stronghold. Co-existing with the goblins are some clockwork gnomes, here after the minerals this area has to offer.
Gnomes aside, the goblins have quite the home for themselves, complete with a bar, bedrooms, and other homely features. While most would find the heat to be too stifling, these goblins enjoy the hot temperatures so much, they have built fire places into many of their living quarters.
Factions
Generally speaking, Fire Goblins and Kobolds are opposed to the Solusek Mining Co..
Fire Goblins
- Goblins of Fire Peak
- Tribe Vrodak (possibly out of Era)
Gnomes and Clockworks
Be careful about killing Gnomes and Clockworks in this zone unless your race doesn't need positive faction in Ak'Anon.
Kobolds
Goblin Merchant
Merchants in this Zone
Well Known Camps
In the northeast sector of the dungeon you will find gnomes and clockworks from Ak'Anon. These are the highest level mobs in the zone with levels ranging from 30 to 35. As noted earlier in the Faction section, however, be careful about killing these if you value your Gnome and Ak'Anon faction.
- Courtyard - 9 on map; camp where the CWG Model EXG spawns
- Gabbie's Room - 8 on map; just inside the Castle where Gabbie Mardoddle spawns
The southern sector of the dungeon is fire goblin territory, and there are three primary camps:
- The Pit - 13 on map; this is probably the safest camp to pull from for lower level groups starting out in Solusek's Eye. It's a hop and a skip from a zone line to SolB ("C" on map) if you get overwhelmed, and its far enough away from lava that your group doesn't have to worry about lava hazards while chasing runners. You'll sometimes see solo players and even groups camp near the Pit closer to the SolB zone line as well.
- Throne Room - By 17 on the map; This is a relatively higher-level camp (~28 - 30 mobs) on the south sector of the zone that features the Solusek Goblin King along with Solusek mage, Solusek champion, Solusek priest, and Solusek goblin. They still con blue and light blue at L35.
- Bar - 15 on map; features a full sized bar complete with a fire goblin bartender, and in a nearby room spawns the goblin drunkard (16 on map)
Lower level groups should start at the southern sector killing fire goblins. For evil groups that don't mind losing Gnome faction with Ak'Anon, you can continue killing gnomes and clockworks well into the mid-30's.
Forageable Items
None.
Bestiarum Vocabulum
Found 0 NPC's of 54 known to spawn in Solusek's Eye.
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Items
Found 0 items that are found in Solusek's Eye.
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Quests
Found 0 quests that start in Solusek's Eye.
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